Spider Man: Darkest Hours
by Skychild101
Summary: Devastated and hurt, Peter isolates himself from people including Tony. Aunt May's death still tainted Peter. But a more sinister faces rises and a spirit of gloom and fear sweeps the city. Peter realizes that he would have to eventually to fully embrace his destiny. But is he up to the task? Rated T for violence. Book six of seven
1. Prelude to the Sinister Six

**Author's Note:** ASDFGHJKL! HI PEOPLE OF EARTH! WE'RE ONTO BOOK SIX OF SPIDER MAN! GUYS, I JUST WANT TO CRY! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? WE'RE SO CLOSE TO FINISH THE **ENTIRE** SPIDER MAN SERIES! THAT'S AMAZING! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This book is the prelude to book seven because there are certain characters who will appear—and you already know them by a group name they have been referred to by ^^ so another excitement! WE'RE GOING TO SEE A LOT OF STUFF HAPPENING IN HERE! Anyway, without further ado, let's get going!

 **Summary:** Devastated and hurt, Peter isolates himself from people including Tony. Aunt May's death still tainted Peter. But a more sinister faces rises and a spirit of gloom and fear sweeps the city. Peter realizes that he would have to eventually to fully embrace his destiny. But is he up to the task?

Chapter 1: Prelude to the Sinister Six

In a deserted area and it half past midnight. The entire area was empty, devoid of life. Despite the haunting environment and the ominous wind, it seemed like a stable neighborhood even though there were only hills upon hills. At the far distance, there was a small cottage house.

A sudden harsh thud slammed the ground and it gave out an awful screech. It looked pathetic; weak even. Its slimy gooey body inhaled sharply as its beady wide eyes stared around.

Giving out another screech, the being began to crawl across the ground in hopes of finding a new host so that it could bond and be stronger. With a small flicker of hope, the creature resumed crawling, going towards the house that had spotted from its spot.

It eventually reached the house, sliding through the small opening of the door even though it was a tight squeeze. The whole area was surrounded from darkness; no light at all. It preferred this way; it could give the element of surprise to its new host.

When it took another crawl, something pierced at the bottom of it which made the creature give out a shriek. Snarling and growling, it sharply turned its body around and began to lunge but it was futile.

The newcomer picked it up with its mechanic tentacle and brought the creature close to its face. It made him grin as he examined it.

"Well, aren't you the curious sort?" the figure chuckled quietly. "You would do quite well…"

The being snarled as it was fidgeting all over the place, twisting its body in attempt to escape its grip.

"Now, now. None of that. Listen to me," it hissed furiously. "You're coming with me…"

The figure got out a jar and dumped the creature in it, slamming the lid and turning it so that its closed. With a menacing grin, the shadow turned the other way and walked back into the darkness.

* * *

Mysterio narrowed his eyes as he stared at the floor. Spider Man had gone through enough and it surprised him that he had still willpower left in him. Mysterio would've thought he would quit but that wasn't the case. He hardened his glare when there was a flashback that went in his mind. The flashback of his friend being murdered because he saved his own friend.

Mysterio had never saw that kind of selfless act before. Sure, there was time when Spider Man spared him from being struck by the sword but saving a friend was a total different act of heroism.

Was Spider Mean really meant that much to the friend of Spider Man?

Apparently so or otherwise that boy wouldn't made that sacrifice.

"Someone's in a thinking mood," a deep rumbling voice announced.

"Which is more than I can say for you," Mysterio snarled annoyed. "Leave me be."

"Hmph," the new figure muttered as it stalked away, leaving nothing but sand for its trail.

"And pick after yourself," Mysterio yelled.

Mysterio huffed. Most of these people are so annoying. Nevertheless, there was still an issue of him supposedly helping Spider Man to go back in time. He still doesn't know why he was helping the young web crawler. He honestly has no reason to. But that was still the dumbest plan Mysterio had ever heard in his entire life.

What was Spider Man thinking?

"Hello, children," a voice slithered.

Mysterio rolled his eyes. "We're not children so you can cut the crap."

A dark chuckle was made from the figure. As he was emerging from the darkness, clanging was heard.

"Hey, it's the boss," one of them spoke.

"Of course it is," the leader said. "But my, aren't you in the mood, Mysterio. Perhaps there is something you wish to tell us?"

Mysterio paused as he went in thought. He narrowed his eyes and shrugged. "Nah, I've got nothing to tell."

The boss gave a hard stare as he looked at Mysterio as though he was expecting some kind of reaction from Mysterio. It appeared that the two were having some kind of a staring contest but the leader withdrew himself, brushing the stare to the side.

"When are we going to attack?" one of the members asked impatiently.

"Patience is a virtue," he said. "We will attack when he least expects it. Now ask me again and I'll tear you apart," he snarled menacingly as he brought one of his tentacles towards the shadow, close to the face.

The figure brushed it off as though it was nothing. He brought his hand up, having his thumb and the index finger being close to the thumb. A small flicker of electricity was shown.

"Might I remind you that I have electricity as power. I can stop your pathetic human heart if I wanted to. I can do that for all of you!" he exclaimed.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Electro but I am the Master of Illusions. If you really want to challenge then be my guest. I can backfire your attacks. I can make your _fears_ come true and have them eat you alive," he hissed darkly.

Electro sneered. "Anyway, I think I should get a shot at this web slinger."

Mysterio laughed. "If half of us _failed_ then what makes you think _you_ have the chance to defeat him? That's what everyone problem is. We _all_ underestimated him and look where it got us."

"While that is true, Mysterio, if we work together, the whole six of us, we can stand a chance," the deep heavy accent voice replied. "Remember: each of us had _almost_ defeated him but in the end lost."

The rest of the group registered this information until one of them spoke.

"Well, if we are going to catch this stupid brat then we should at least have a name," the winged creature suggested. "We should have a name that would strike fear through peoples' hearts."

Everyone rested in silence as they were all brainstorming a name—a perfect name. One where it would make people be frightened of them.

"The Sinister Six," Mysterio mumbled.

"What was that?" the Vulture asked.

"The Sinister Six," Mysterio said loudly. "That's what we should call ourselves. We're all brutal and frightening in our own way and there are six of us so why not?"

The Vulture paused in thought and a cruel grin etched onto his face. "An excellent suggestion. How about it?"

Everyone muttered in agreement.

"Okay then," the Vulture nodded, confirming it. "The Sinister Six it is."

"Great. Now if we could gather up a plan that would defeat Spider Man once and for all, that would be nice," the Sandman grumbled.

Electro paused in thought as he grinned. "Hey, I've got it. Why don't we go back in time? You know… to the part where Spider Man got his powers? If we prevent that then we could kill Spider Man right on the spot."

" _No_ ," Mysterio snarled, getting up though it startled the group.

Kraven raised one of his eyebrows. "Why not?"

"Are you all bloody stupid?" Mysterio asked. "It's never a good idea to change the past, you fools. If we change something from the past then it could drastically change the future."

The leader gave a thoughtful gaze to Mysterio who sat back down, letting out a heavy breath.

"And don't you _ever_ think of that plan again," Mysterio threatened.

"If I didn't know any better, Mysterio, I'd say that you're hiding something."

That made Mysterio go mute. When Electro mentioned about time travelling, he instantly thought of Spider Man's plan and that caused him slightly be in panic.

"I have nothing hidden," Mysterio said simply.

The chief gave a one last look at him before he tore his gaze away, allowing Mysterio to slightly have a sigh of relief. He still doesn't know why he was hiding the web crawler's idea when it could be a great advantage to them. Yet again, Mysterio winced when he thought back to the Spider Man's friend's death.

He supposed he really does owe it to Spider Man.

"All of you will have a turn again, trust me," the leader responded after a while. "Some of you will have the first try as you didn't faced him yet but I prefer to have the element of surprise. However, we do have a new friend. He's a bit…shy."

The boss then brought his hands from the back and he lifted one of his hands only to have something slithering on his forearm. Electro narrowed his eyes and he walked towards it; his blue light illuminating the place. He brought himself closer to the strange thing that was on the leader's arm.

"What is that?" Electro frowned. "And that thing is supposed to defeat Spider Man?"

Smiling maliciously, the boss extended his hand out. "My precious thing…go for it."

Electro made a confused look until the strange being suddenly screeched something awful and it made a lunge at Electro who widened his eyes. He gave out a scream as the creature ripped his flesh and he tried to use his powers to electrocute him.

"Now, does anyone else want to question me?" the leader asked.

Mysterio narrowed his eyes as he stared at the wall where the Electro's shadow fell upon it. The creature still attacked him and the screams were echoing around.

 **Author's Note:** *insert sinister music* yay for things getting darker? *ahem* it is book six! So expect for it to be dark! Dun dun dunnn…*ahem* but I'm surprised really…at how Mysterio didn't told of Spider Man's hidden plan. What are you up to Mysterio? And I'm sure everyone knows who that creature was at the beginning ^^ What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	2. Isolation

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Ultimate Rogue for following the story. Thanks to Jyheim582 for following and favoring the story. Thanks to cabrera1234 for following and favoring the story. Thanks to Dulcecitath for following and reviewing the story. Thanks to The Fanfiction Expedition- All things fiction for putting me in their community.

* * *

Chapter 2: Isolation

Peter Parker sat in a dark room; the window blinds being closed which prevented the sunlight coming in. His shoulders were slumped as he was staring at a picture frame he was holding with a mournful look. The image contained him as a boy with Aunt May wrapping her arm around his shoulder. Both of them were smiling widely, being happy. To his left, there was a mess of newspapers scattered on the bed, each of them showing the headlines.

 _KINGPIN KNOWN AS WILSON FISK IMPRISONED_

 _After the terrible riot that was created, Kingpin was finally captured, thanks to Spider Man and is now being charged to his doings. The police forces promised that Kingpin would not see another day and would remain with tight securities._

" _I really thought we wouldn't be able to put a stop to all the chaos Kingpin was causing," Officer Jackson replied. "There was just so much going on all at once. Everything was out of control and having Fisk as a Mayor? It was pretty terrifying in all honesty."_

 _Of course, the police force had some help. Many of the citizens would know him as Spider Man. However, no one has seen Spider Man since Kingpin's imprisoned. Many had wondered where he had gone._

A second newspaper laid beside the first one.

 _THE FALL OF STARK ENTERPRISES_

The page was taken by a picture of the broken tower. It was broken but not abandoned despite the state it was in.

 _Tony Stark, who was the former CEO, is no longer around his Enterprise. Only his most trusted friend and bodyguard, Happy Hogan, had remained in charge followed by the recent CEO, Pepper Potts._

" _With all due respect, I am to not answer any questions regarding with Stark's whereabouts," Hogan stated firmly. "Please don't ask me again."_

 _Pepper Potts is also in the same situation as Hogan, denying the rumors that have been spreading about Stark._

" _Yes, we're in the process of rebuilding the Stark tower. Now, please. No further questions. No further questions."_

 _Despite the hidden answers that the two were keeping, sources could also suggested that Stark was currently going to the court in order to make himself a guardian to a young boy whose name is Peter Parker who had recently lost his Aunt…_

Peter gripped his grip on the frame before he realized small sobs began to escape. The death was too much to bear. At first, when…it happened, Peter didn't want to believe it—hell, he was still having trouble into accepting that she's really gone. If he only had gotten there on time, she would've made it.

A small vibration sound came but Peter chose to ignore it. The screen on the phone lit up which revealed Tony. Peter was aware of the amount of times she had called him but he couldn't talk to anyone.

Not just yet.

Peter traced the picture with his finger though he only felt the cold from the frame. As he stared at the image, a dark thought entered his mind.

It was his fault. It was his fault that Aunt May had died and he couldn't save her on time.

* * *

Tony cursed under his breath as ink from the pen leaked on his sleeve. The pen decided to be useless by squirting all over the place even on the table.

 _Great. Just great._

In less than half an hour, he was going to the court but before he was, there was something else he had to do. It was necessary. At least, he has a backup jacket. He sighed, dropping the pen and had his eyes trail to the side to see the newspapers lying around.

There were mentions of the sudden Spider Man's disappearance and having himself being the new guardian. Well, technically, he wasn't the guardian just yet but if he wins the case, then everything would go smoothly.

"Sir, are you ready? We need to get going."

Happy Hogan entered the room. His usual emotionless expression etched onto his face though he frowned when he saw paper on the table with a pen followed by the spill.

"Who are you writing to?"

"Um," Tony cleared his throat. "No one. It doesn't matter," Tony fumbled with the paper, covering it. "But uh what matters is that…I do need to get a new clean jacket and then we could go. Um, got a little spill from pen. It's a bit…leaky."

After Tony finished with the paper, he then went on to grab another formal jacket before he headed towards his limo which was parked outside.

"I assume Peter is already in the limo?" Tony asked as they exited out of the building.

"Yes sir."

Tony hesitated. "How is he?"

"To be honest, he was awfully quiet during the whole ride," Happy answered and sighed. "I'm not sure if he'll be back to his normal self."

Tony clenched his fists. "He will. Trust me. I know he will."

Once Tony entered in the limo, Tony stole a glance to the side and saw Peter staring out at the window absent-mindedly. His expression was straight, no signs of any emotions. Tony sighed.

"Hey kid," Tony greeted him as he tried to at least talk to him.

Peter merely gave a slight nod.

They eventually arrived at the court and as expected, there were groups of paparazzi and reporters lingering around; flashes of cameras flashed from almost every angle. It was bothersome. There were also some background voices coming from the paparazzi, shouting out questions at him though Tony ignored them as he was trying to make his way in. Tony pushed Peter to the side, gripping him as though he was trying not to lose him to the crowd. He really didn't need this right now.

After the enormous crowd, Tony finally managed to enter the all too familiar building. It took a while but he settled in at last as he entered in the main room of the court—where all the action took place. Tony made a small grimace as he remembered the last time he was in here.

He was here with Wilson Fisk which didn't end well.

A sudden loud bang came, slightly startling Tony. Peter was now aware of where he was as he looked around the room with a tentative look.

The stern Judge placed down the court hammer and looked piercingly at Tony. A heavy silence hung in the air but it was quickly interrupted by the Judge's voice.

"This court is now session," the Judge announced. "Please state your name and your relationship to the child."

"Tony 'Anthony' Stark. A father-figure of the child."

"Now proceeding to the case. You wish to take the full custody for the child, correct?"

"Yes, your Honor."

"Is the said child in this room?" the Judge asked.

"Yes."

"May he stand?"

Peter got up though he was too busy fixing his look on Tony. Tony could tell that he was nervous and wanted to get out of here.

The Judge made a small glance to the boy who was averting his gaze by staring at the floor.

"Peter Parker. The child of Richard and Mary Parker. Both deceased. Also a niece to May Parker. Recently deceased, correct?"

Peter nodded. "Yes, your Honor."

The Judge pursed her lips before she asked some more questions.

"You seem to be know what you're doing, Mr. Stark. I assume you could take care of the boy but you never had taken care of a child before. What makes you think you could become a guardian to a boy whose not your own? From my understanding, you do not have what it takes to take him under your wing."

Tony took a sharp breath though he still remained calm. "I actually like to think of Peter _as_ my own. He's a very good kid. I do believe I have what it takes to be a guardian. I can take care of him both physically and financially—money's not the problem. And in all honesty, I would rather have the kid be with someone he knows he can trust."

The Judge gave him a hard stare, narrowing her eyes as she studied Tony's body gesture. She lifted her head, holding up high and for a brief moment, the two stole a glance as to say 'challenge me'.

"With all due respect, Tony Stark, you're a bit…advanced for the boy," the Judge resumed.

"I know my limits. I know my standards and of course, I know the _rules._ I only focus on what's best for the boy and his interests."

"We all heard what the Speaker has to say. I'll decide where the boy goes based on the evidence and the factors. After all, we all want the best for the boy's interest. This court is dismissed," she replied before banging the hammer on the stand.

Peter found himself back in the limo as he waited for Tony. Quite frankly, he was glad that the court was finished and he wanted nothing more than to get out of here. The sound of the door being opened interrupted Peter's chain of thoughts though Peter ignored it as he knew who it was.

Tony fumbled with the ends of his jacket but stole a glance at Peter.

"You alright, kid?"

Peter nodded mutely. The car started to roll away and despite everything that had happened, Peter blurted out.

"What's going to happen?" he asked all of a sudden. "I don't want to live in a foster home."

Sensing the anxiety, Tony softened his expression as he sighed. "I really don't know, Pete. The decision will be based on the Judge. Only she will make it and once she does, she'll notify me. I can only hope that you'll end up with me."

Peter lowered his head, curling his hands into fists. "I feel like I'm failing at everything."

Tony placed a hand on his shoulder. "Peter, you're not failing anyone or anything. We all go through hardships but what counts is the determination and the courage of _you_ pulling yourself back up. When this is all over, I promise you that everything will go back to normal."

"But I've failed Aunt May!" Peter exclaimed. "I failed as Peter Parker and as Spider Man. Do you know what the worst thing is? The fact that I _never_ got a chance to tell her who I am! I can't take this anymore…I just can't…"

Tony made a small smile before it faltered; his grip on Peter's shoulder tightened. "In some ways, I personally believe that Aunt May really does know who you are. Listen to me, Peter. You haven't failed her. You haven't _failed_ anybody. You must keep believing in yourself. You must, Peter. You can never have yourself lose to darkness."

As they were continuing down the road, all of a sudden, sirens were heard which perked Tony's interest and he gave a small smile.

"I believe that's your cue."

"What makes you think Spider Man will return?" Peter mumbled.

"Well, I do believe that's Spider Man's decision. But somehow, I think the people will know that Spider Man will come back," Tony gave him a look. "He has in the past."

Peter lifted his head up and shared a glance with Tony. He bit his lip and within the next seconds, Peter found himself zipping through the city as he was following the sound of the sirens.

 **Author's Note: **Unhhh…this chapter was freakin hard. The amount of research that was put into the child's custody was a pain in the butt. It WAS SO HARD! But it's done! Whooo! And Peter believed in himself again! Yay! What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	3. A Message from Tony Stark

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Andrei Rian for favoring and following the story. Thanks to Batguy2000 for favoring the story.

* * *

Chapter 3: A Message from Tony Stark

"Peter, I think it's great that Tony's going to be your guardian," Michelle spoke.

Peter stared out at the distance. The only noise that's surrounding them are the voices from the people that were either occasionally talking to their phones or to the people that were beside them.

Peter gave a dry chuckle as he stared out. "I don't _know_ if he is going to be my legal guardian," he spoke before lowering his voice. "People still say that he's a bit mad."

Michelle sighed as she bit her lip. Last year was horrible. She remembered how everything was in chaos ever since Kingpin was in charge. There were riots and deaths. Michelle felt her throat go dry. Even mentioning the word _death_ still made Michelle feel guilty. She should've stopped Aunt May with all her might then maybe just _maybe_ May would've still been alive.

"Well? What do you think?" Michelle asked.

Peter shrugged. In all honesty, he doesn't know what to think anymore. "To me, I don't think he is, I hope. Yeah, Tony can sometimes be a bit crazy but I'm sure there are reasons behind it. Anyway, I'm supposed to know the result tomorrow."

"And then?"

Peter stared at the ground, allowing the silence to settle in until Peter interrupted it.

"I start packing. No point in going back to…May's house, I suppose. I live with Tony."

"I think you should use today and tomorrow to start packing. You know, just so you could settle in before going back for classes. It starts in a week and a half."

"Yeah," Peter muttered. He got up after a while but before he took another step, he paused. "Um…do you mind helping me out?"

By the time Peter and Michelle got to Peter's house, it was late in the evening. Peter fumbled with the keys and a soft _click_ was heard, indicating that the door was opened, allowing them access. Peter took a breath as sudden flashbacks struck him which caused him wince. He gritted his teeth as he walked in further while Michelle closed the door.

It's quiet.

"Come on," Peter mumbled. "Upstairs is my room."

He tried not to cry.

Even though she was silent, Michelle nodded and followed Peter, climbing up the stairs to reach his room.

So much memories that it hurts.

The faster he got the packing down, the sooner he could get out of here. He didn't want to stay in here than he needed to. Peter trailed his eyes so that they landed on the window which earned him a small smile and he walked towards it. He remembered all those times back to the point where he had got his first powers. He would always sneak out to stop the bad guys and then has to get back to his room due to having a curfew.

Sometimes, Peter past his curfew which made him come home late and as a result, it would have Aunt May be suspicious. Nevertheless, Peter would always come up with excuses where sometimes Peter had thought Aunt May didn't always buy them.

"So…where's your trunk?" Michelle asked as she glanced around, taking in the surroundings.

"My what?" Peter blinked, coming back to reality.

" _Suitcase_ ," Michelle clarified.

"Oh! Um, it's actually in the storage room. I'll go get it," Peter mumbled.

She gave a faint smile as she watched Peter disappear. Her heart ached just by watching Peter being in so much pain. He didn't deserve this. Not at all. Peter used to be so happy and now he's so broken. It wasn't fair. Aunt May meant so much to him. Smiling softly, Michelle tore her gaze away from the door though something else caught her eye.

It was the picture frame that was sitting on the table. The image had Aunt May and a small boy that was Peter and both of them were smiling from ear to ear. They look so happy back then. Gazing softly, Michelle lifted the picture and stared into the picture. She could feel tears coming down but she refused to let them fall.

He had lost so much.

"Here's the suitcase," Peter announced.

Michelle sniffed a bit and quickly placed back the frame on the desk. It took a while but they finished it. As Peter was about to close the suitcase, a frame caught his eye and he stopped what he was doing. Peter looked up to see the picture and then stared at Michelle who gave a soft smile.

"I think you should take it," Michelle whispered.

Peter glanced back at the picture with a small hesitation before he took it and placed it carefully in his suitcase so that it wouldn't get damage. A final zip was heard and the two found themselves going back downstairs, exiting out of the house.

Peter opened the back of the car, placing away the suitcase and then locking the car's trunk. He waited for Michelle as he sat in the passenger's seat. He still doesn't trust himself driving the car. Perhaps he could pester Tony into giving him a _proper_ driving lessons compare to the one where Harry had given him.

Peter made a small dry smile as he remembered the ticket he had gotten which ended up having Aunt May yell at him.

It was a quiet ride though Peter had occasionally sometimes give out directions so that Michelle can know where to go. The only time both of them were here was either for Michelle and Ned resting in Med bay followed by Peter talking to Tony. Sometimes as Spider Man. Sometimes as Peter.

"I still say the place is amazing," Michelle said. "It's incredible. Lucky you get to live here."

Peter chuckled quietly. "You're welcome to stay here if you want."

Michelle slightly scoffed. "I wish I could but my dad's not letting me out of his sight. Especially because…you know…"

Nevertheless, after getting the suitcase, Peter went inside where he was greeted by Happy who surprisingly doesn't mind Peter. Either that or Happy was giving him sympathy.

"Mr. Parker," Happy announced. "I see that you have arrived," he then looked to see Michelle. "And I also see that your friend is."

Michelle gave him a meek smile.

Peter nodded. "Yeah, here I am."

"Good. Well, I suppose I should show your quarters so you can get settled," Happy said as he began to walk away.

"Um, I think I should get going, Pete. It's getting pretty late. You'll be alright, won't you?" Michelle asked.

Peter nodded silently. "You'll be okay on your own? You know, getting back and everything?"

"Yea. But if I'm lost, I'll call you," she slightly smirked though she got serious. "But um…stay safe, Peter. I'll see you when classes start."

Peter flashed her a small smile and he watched her as she walked the opposite way. Peter continued to look after her until her figure was no longer in sight.

"Peter!"

"Um, yeah. I'm coming."

Once Peter caught up to Happy, Happy went straight into his guide as he motioned where everything was including the bathroom because sometimes even heroes needs a break every now and then. Happy made it quite simple of where everything is—it was just a matter of time of having Peter settling in and making himself comfortable around here.

At first, the whole place seemed cold to Peter. It didn't held the certain warmth like how he had back at Aunt May's house though perhaps, Peter thought he would get used to it. Either way, Peter had managed to get a bright side on this and that was, he didn't have to infiltrate the place like how he did in the past.

"Oh and one more thing before I go," Happy said. "I wouldn't suggest sneaking out. It doesn't do well in the end," he paused. "Well. Happy staying."

Happy then walked away, closing the doors behind him. However, before he could close the doors all the way, Happy pushed them back.

"Oh and do try keep the partying at a minimum."

When Happy was fully gone, Peter was left to his thoughts and he used this time to unpack his things so that he could try to make his room feel like home. Once Peter finished decorating his room, he decided he should explore the building so that he knows where everything is.

He was still amazed at the largeness of the building and the elegance that got displayed at the same time. In almost every room he had been, it was filled with hi-tech devices that could only be authorized by the people who were working here. Nevertheless, Peter found himself at a lower level of the building though he quickly gave a small smile at a person who walked past by him.

As Peter was walking down the hall, he recalled that Happy failed to mention about this hallway. Nevertheless, Peter resumed walking down until he came across a door that seemed to be shut closed. Well, at least to the naked eye. If Peter knows anything about Tony, he would be that Tony would install a secret panel to gain access to certain points.

Peter roamed his hand across the wall until his hand found a lump. Smirking, Peter pushed open the panel which revealed a button. As Peter pressed the button, he observed how easy it was to gain access to this door.

 _Not very Tony-style. He would have top notch securities._

Nonetheless, Peter heard the door sliding open though before he went in, Peter gave a glance to the side then went inside. When he did, he was greeted with bright blaring lights which forced Peter raise his hand up, covering his eyes. Once he got used to it, he lowered his hand only to find out that this room had many container units whose doors began to open. As they were opening, they revealed to be empty.

Peter was confused.

Why would Tony leave empty units in a room?

Tilting his head, Peter noticed that one of the units—the middle one—didn't opened.

Strange.

Peter walked towards it as his curiosity grew; he really wanted to know what Tony was hiding. Despite how close Peter came to it, a sudden voice came which startled Peter and he whirled around only to see Happy.

"I thought you were in here," Happy said as Peter turned around.

"Um, I was just—"

"Looking around where you shouldn't? Yeah, I know."

"Um…but…I just wanted to know what's in that containment. Why does Tony have empty units except this one?"

"That is not your business and therefore, you shouldn't mess with what isn't yours. It's off limits."

Sighing, Peter knew that was the signal for him to drop questions since Peter found himself being escorted out of the room. On the other hand, Peter was sure that Tony would tell him in the end.

Well, at least Peter hoped so or otherwise he was being tempted to sneak in and see it for himself. Nevertheless, Peter was back in his room despite the fact that the following day, Peter spent almost the entire morning thinking about the closed unit. Nevertheless, Peter rested himself in the Avengers Facility for the next few days and while also wandering about the place as well.

So far, it was nothing like home, naturally and the routine of getting up every morning was pretty repetitive since he was doing the exact same thing when he used to live in Aunt May's house.

After lunch, Peter went back to his room but when he did, he looked at his phone and saw that there was a red blinking light.

Someone left a message.

Anxious and excitement flooded through Peter. It must be from Tony.

Taking a breath, Peter walked towards the phone that was on his desk and he pressed the play button.

" _Hey, it's Tony! How are you doing, kid? I trust Happy didn't give you a rough time and I hope everything is to your liking. Of course, it's going to take a while for you to get use to the stuff but I do hope that everything is doing justice for you. Oh, just to let you know, if Happy's giving you a rough time, it's because he's in a cranky mood—don't ask. I've figured that out the hard way."_

Peter made a small chuckle.

" _But uh on the serious note, I've got a notice from the court. And I've won the case! That's right! I'm your official_ legal _guardian. But do take it easy on me. I'm a bit…you know…old._

 _Stay friendly, kid._

 _See you soon._

Just by hearing the message, it made Peter's day even better.

 **Author's Note:** Aww! TONY IS PETER NEW GUARDIAN! WHOO! This should be exciting for both of them! And this is sure to hit the news so that should also be interesting. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	4. The Return of Gwen Stacy

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to shadowmagi98 for favoring and following the story.

* * *

Chapter 4: The Return of Gwen Stacy

Gwendolyn 'Gwen' Stacy sighed as she ruffled the newspapers. She stared at the image which was at the front page though she winced.

The picture contained a car that had smashed at the ground; small fires surrounded of where the vehicle was and above the picture was a headline:

 _RIOT BATTLE TOOK A DRASTIC TURN_

Gwen bit her lip as the article mentioned about the death of an Aunt who had a nephew named Peter Parker.

It was terrible, really. Gwen couldn't help but to feel sorry for the boy who had lost everyone.

 _Almost._

Gwen turned the page around and noticed the new headline:

 _TONY STARK WINS THE CASE_

In all honesty, Gwen didn't know how to feel about it. She supposed it was better than having Peter going to a foster home but still though.

Did Stark had what it takes to take care of a child whose not his own?

Gwen only hoped for the best.

"Hey kid," a tired voice announced.

Gwen smiled as she recognized the voice.

"Hey dad," she greeted and have a perk on his cheek when he came towards her.

"I assume there's news in the papers?" Stacy asked, placing his coat away.

"A lot more than you think," she muttered. She let out a heavy sigh. "Peter...how he's-"

George made a bitter smile. "Poor kid. He was a mess when I saw him. He looked like he was ready to break into pieces if anyone touched him. I can't believe that it happened. Bless his soul."

"But he's not alone. Stark...he's Peter new Guardian. That's something...right?"

"I suppose although the news are being skeptic about Stark's actions. They don't think he can do it."

Gwen sighed. "Tony has to. I don't want to see Peter going to some random house with parents who are strangers to him."

George ran his fingers through his hair.

"The only thing we could do right now is to put faith in Stark. If he makes Peter happy then I see no problem into having Stark as a legal Guardian."

Gwen supposed her father was right.

"Anyway, how's work?" Gwen asked, placing the newspaper away.

George gave a dry chuckle. "Ever since Kingpin is behind bars, there's a lot of pressure in the workplace. It's hectic. At least we still have good ol' Spider Man with us."

Gwen scoffed a little. "People haven't seen him in a while."

The father gave her a look. "You sure about that?"

He grabbed the recent newspaper from the coffee table and showed Gwen the front page.

 _SPIDER MAN SIGHTINGS AT LAST_

A small flicker of hope went in Gwen's heart as she took the paper away from him and skimmed the article.

"So...he's back? _"_

George chuckled. "Spider Man may be broken but he's back."

* * *

The summer holidays ended, having Peter finding himself going back to the campus already. Needless to say, he wasn't sure how to feel since every time he goes back to University, something bad would always happen. He hoped for once maybe just maybe that he would have a slightly normal year but he doubts it.

It would be nice, however.

Peter sighed as he walked down the familiar path of the Campus. He couldn't believe that he would be almost done here. This year would determine his career and how far it would lead him. Therefore, he supposed it should be interesting. As Peter was lost in his thoughts, he suddenly returned to reality as he found out just how the halls were crowded since he was having trouble just getting to his dorm.

"Excuse me," Peter muttered as he pushed through the crowd while dragging his suitcase.

It's a bit frustrated, in all honesty.

"Excuse—"Peter gasped when something hard collided at him from the side and he stumbled sideways, slightly slamming himself against the wall.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going and—wait, is that you? Pete? Peter?"

Peter, who was currently being dazed, blinked as he tried to get his vision in order. When his eyesight was normal, he had his eyes trail down only to see a cloud of blonde in his sight. Peter furrowed his eyebrow as he studied the figure.

"Gwen?" he asked, surprised.

Gwen sighed with relief. "Peter! It's so good to see you!" she said excitedly as she lunge at him, going in for a hug.

Peter nearly lost his balance but he caught it before he could even fall down to the floor. He returned the hug and the two shared a moment until Gwen pulled away.

"How are you these days? I've never see you much," Gwen replied.

Peter bit his lip. "Life's been busy, I guess. I had other things to do…"

Gwen's face fell with sadness and she lowered her head so that her bangs covered her face.

"Pete, I'm so sorry about your aunt. When my father told me, I…I wanted to tell you how sorry I am," Gwen whispered.

Peter nodded. "It hurts. It really hurts a lot and even though it's been a few days, I'm still not use to the fact that she's gone…" Peter tried to blink the threatening tears which were about to fall.

Gwen bit her lip. "It's tough, I know. But hopefully, you will be able to start to heal. But on the other hand, congrats on having Tony making your new guardian. But are you sure he's fitted to be one?"

Peter frowned. "I know people say he's mad but he's really not. Tony knows what he's doing or at least I _think_ he knows what he's doing. So far, I'm not dead so yeah…" Peter trailed off.

Gwen made a slight chuckle. "If you need anything, though, I'll be right here."

"Thanks, Gwen."

Gwen smiled softly. "I'll see you around, eh? I hope we can hang out more."

Peter nodded. "Yeah. That would be nice."

Once the two departed, Peter finally reached his dorm where he roughly slammed the door closed the second he entered his room. It was empty but once he put his stuff back, it would look nice. Peter then looked to his left and saw another empty bed and that belonged to Harry.

By mentioning his name, Peter wondered where he was and if Harry made it out alright by getting here.

Either way, Peter made himself comfortable by taking out his things from the suitcase. Tomorrow's going to be a long day as classes would start thus he should probably gather his timetable today so he would know where to go first thing in the morning.

As he was thinking about the classes, the thoughts led to Warren who happened to be quite nasty to him last semester. As a result, Peter hoped he wouldn't have Warren but the chances are slim. Ever since he had heard Dr. Connors was teaching here, he had been hoping that Peter would at least have him once but that didn't happen. Maybe that would change this year.

Regardless, Peter assumed he was happy to be back...somewhat. Maybe school will take his mind off from the bad things.

Once Peter finished unpacking his things, he went out of the room and decided to go down to the office where he would pick up his timetable.

After waiting for a bit, Peter immediately began to examine his schedule.

So far it doesn't look bad and it turns out he has a free period first thing in the morning. Grinning, Peter resumed studying his sheet until his grin faded away when he saw that Warren was once again his Biochemistry teacher.

Peter groaned.

How uncanny.

"Don't tell me you already got detention on your first day back?"

Peter stopped what he was doing only to roll his eyes, scowling.

"Flash," Peter muttered.

"Come on. I'm not such a bad guy."

"Right. And for the record, I _don't_ have detention."

Flash smirked. "You sure? I'm mean, getting into trouble is what you're good at."

Peter growled. "Are you _sure_ you haven't been accepted here by mistake?" Peter snapped.

Flash sneered. "Hilarious."

"Well think about it. You haven't exactly been a good sport and you don't really have good grades. You're always bullying someone-mainly me, by the way-so one _has_ to think if you got accepted right," Peter said dryly.

Flash glared at him. "At least I have parents who are _still_ alive."

That struck Peter badly. He froze in his spot and the next thing he knew, Peter found himself glaring daggers and tried to refrain himself from punching the living daylights from Flash.

"Take that back right now," Peter hissed.

Flash sneered. "Can't accept the cold hard fact?" he taunted.

Losing control, Peter started to lunge at Flash who was surprised at him. But before Peter could land a blow on him, something started to drag Peter away from Flash.

"Alright, that's enough you two," a stern voice stated.

"Let me go!" Peter snarled slightly, trying to break free from the grip.

"Gentlemen. Break it up. I'm going to have to ask you to leave. This is a violence-free zone," the receptionist spoke, eyeing the three.

"Sorry. Won't happen again, promise. Peter's just a hard-headed child. Come on, Pete. Ignore him."

It was tough but Peter was finally out of the office and when he was, he roughly yanked himself from the strong grip.

"Funny how I didn't expect to meet you like this," Peter muttered once he knew who the newcomer was.

Harry slightly smiled. "Nice to see you. How are you?"

"Spectacular," Peter stated flatly.

Harry made a short chuckle. Deciding to change the subject, Harry pulled out his timetable and decided to compare to his.

"Well, let's our timetable then so I can judge you if you're nerdier than usual or just plain nerdy."

Peter snorted. "Like that even made sense and I'll have you know, we have different subjects. How can we have the same classes?"

Harry gave an amused smile before he took Peter's schedule and began to compare to them. Much to his surprise and delight, it turned out that Harry had also have the same free period as did Peter.

"And oh look: we have the same spare," Harry grinned. "And you're nerdier than usual," Harry stated as he gave one last glance to the heavy load of classes Peter had on his timetable.

"Gimme that," Peter mumbled as he snatched his schedule back.

Chuckling, Harry placed his arm over Peter's shoulder as the two began to walk.

Nevertheless, the next morning came though instead of lying in the bed, being all warm and cozy, Peter and Harry had already found themselves standing at the side of the crowded hallway. Harry, with a happy expression, looked down and up at the sea of students.

"You know, I kinda feel bad. We have a free period while the rest of the people have classes first thing in the morning," Happy said cheerfully.

Peter rolled his eyes. "You know there are other people like us, in our year, who might have a spare as well, right?"

"Yeah but they're not cool as us," he smirked.

"Hey guys!" another cheerful voice exclaimed.

The two startled for a minute as they turned to the side to see who it was.

"Gwen!" Peter cried out and gave her a hug

"Aww, did you missed me that much?" Gwen teased. "We saw each other this morning."

"I know…"

Gwen shook her head from amusement and gave a glance across Peter's shoulder. "Hey Harry," she greeted.

Harry nodded, returning the acknowledgment. "Hey."

"So are you guys going to the Career Seminar?" Gwen asked.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. "The what?"

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Follow me."

They reached the Bulletin Board that had many articles pinned on it. Gwen pointed to the news and a headline was written upon it:

 _CAREER SEMINAR_

 _Ready to determine your future?_

 _See your appointed Professor this Friday!_

"Wait…so, who's going to be our 'appointed Professor'?" Peter asked, suddenly intrigued.

"They usually tell just a few days before the actual date," Gwen answered.

Peter stared at the flyer as thoughts came into his mind. He hadn't actually _thought_ of where his career would take him. He was so busy being Spider Man that determining his future career had not once slipped into his mind. Even if this seminar isn't optional, Peter would still very much like to go.

"Is this optional?" Peter wondered.

"Well, in a way it is but almost every Professor strongly recommends going. I know I am," Gwen smiled slightly. "Right then. I've got to get going. I need to prepare myself for the upcoming classes."

Peter nodded though his eyes were still glued to the flyer. "Yeah…see you."

"You thinking of going?" Harry asked once Gwen was out of ear shot.

Peter nodded. After all, there's no harm in going…is there?

 **Author's Note:** Yay! Gwen's back! And she'll play a bigger role in this story. We'll still see Michelle even though Gwen's here so it'll be nice to have female interaction here. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	5. An Excess of Snake Venom

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Guest for reviewing the story. Thanks to Thallion for favoring the story.

* * *

Chapter 5: An Excess of Snake Venom

It took time but Peter gradually got the hang of his routine every morning. Like usual, the Professors would run through curriculum and if there's time, they would either let the class read the first chapter or go through a third of the first lesson. Peter supposed he was glad that he didn't have Warren right away but at the same time, maybe he wasn't since he has him next period.

Nonetheless, Peter supposed he doesn't have a bad schedule.

On the bright side, Peter was happy that he would have at least Gwen in some of his classes. So maybe classes won't be so boring after all.

The downside is that Gwen doesn't know his other form which would be tough to keep it a secret though Peter thought that maybe he's doing a bad job of keeping it a secret hidden anyway.

That being said, there would be a chance where Gwen would discover that Peter is Spider Man.

"What do you even do in a Career seminar?" Harry asked as Peter and Harry walked down the halls; both of them are either carrying a bag over his shoulder or carrying books at the side.

"I'm guessing you would just listen to your appointed professor and they'll help you out with your career."

Harry frowned. "Thanks," he muttered at the obvious answer. When he was asking the question, Harry was hoping for a more elaborated answer. Not the one where Peter had just given.

"You're welcome!" Peter said cheerfully.

"Hey, Peter," a voice said.

Peter expected that was Michelle when he turned around. But that wasn't the case.

A brunette with a group of friends smiled at him. Peter had saw her before but they didn't really talked much.

"Um hey Sara," Peter said before he continued to walk with Harry. When Sara was out of earshot, Peter muttered. "What's up with Sara?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know anything about girls' hormones, man."

"Right," Peter mumbled.

"But I heard that when they're on their...you know...period...they can get cranky. So it's best if you don't annoy them at that time."

The two departed their way and Peter entered his neuroscience class.

"Welcome class," the familiar misty voice greeted them. "I'm so pleased that many of you had returned and are eager to pursue to the advanced level."

 _Not really,_ Peter thought as Professor Watkins spoke. Even though this class was a bit creepy, Peter actually liked it and in a strange way, it was fun as well.

But mostly creepy.

"In this curriculum, you would be learning more about the brain systems and the body developing. The course will get harder, stressful and challenging. In order to be successful, you must put your best efforts and have a positive attitude. As before, inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated," Watkins made a swift glance across the sea of students before continuing.

"Right then. Please turn to the outline. We have much to discuss."

If anything, Peter noticed that Watkins is a bit stern than before. He supposed she had to be as the class were in their year before the final year.

Final years can be tough.

Peter glanced over to the clock which read 9:20am. There were only thirty five minutes left of this class. However, Peter watched the other students and they were either whispering, sleeping or not paying attention at all.

About fifteen minutes later, Watkins stopped what she was doing, dropping her lecture of the course.

"Before you go, I do need to talk to all of you. As you know—or at least some of you—there'll be a Career Seminar this Friday. This seminar will determine where you would like to go in the future. And because it is on Friday, I'll be your appointed Professor. I strongly recommend coming to the meeting."

Once the class was over, Peter sighed as he walked towards Warren's class. Maybe if he took his time, something bad might happen or if he bid his time...

Ah, forget it. Warren's bound to have him get detention, regardless. Even if something bad _did_ happen...

Nonetheless, Peter shuddered when he remembered the last time he had detention with Warren.

Peter hoped Warren had at least controlled the...whatever it was he had transformed.

"Biochemistry advanced level," Professor Warren stated as his sharp eyes swept across the room. "In all honesty, I'm surprised most of you had even made it here so congrats, I suppose."

Peter rolled his eyes at Warren's antics in attempt to scare the class. After Warren's class, Peter went to his break where he decided to check out the Neuroscience book for once. There were a lot of topics on the Electrophysiology, the nervous system and the brain and so on. As Peter turned to the next page, he was able to catch a glimpse of the title _The Dark Side of…_ but that was all he could get since he had to go to the next class.

Nevertheless, Peter started to speculate on the 'Dark Side' topic. Would Watkins really teach the class the dark side? It was intriguing, needless to say and naturally, there are some bad stuff when it comes to neuroscience so why not? It wouldn't hurt.

"…and since Mr. Parker is apparently not interested in our topic, perhaps he could solve the challenging equation for today? Parker!"

Parker snapped himself out of his thoughts as he stared at the Professor, blinking. The Professor pursed his lips as he motioned his head. Sighing, Peter trekked down the path as he took the marker from him.

Peter then stared at the board which contained the equation:

S = −(x0 − ¯x0)2 + (x1 − ¯x1)2 + (x2 − ¯x2)2 + (x3 − ¯x3)2

Almost immediately, Peter got to work and the sound of marker squeaked as Peter continued to write. What it felt like forever, Peter had finally solved the equation and good timing too since his hand was cramped and tingling.

"So based on the information what I had written," Peter announced after a while. "I had went with the units where _c_ is one. From there, I was able to define the metric of space time _ηab_ by this equation," Peter said as he circled the correct one. "With _ηab_ = diag (-1, 1, 1, 1) where _xa_ is any inertial coordinate system. Therefore, the ordinary operator, ∂a, of the global inertial coordinates satisfies by this equation," Peter circled another one.

"The _ηab_ vanishes. In order to figure out what t = arbitrary is, we can identify that the time like curves by proper time is _τ_ , and Ta = the tangent to the curve in this equation. The tangent vector _ua_ to a time like curve is established by τ where it is defined by the 4-velocity of the curve. The square of any 4-vector is an invariant and so with this formula," Peter again circled the correct one. "I can get c to be equal to one so we could get this one…"

Another circle.

"Since external forces are absent, the 4-velocity will satisfy the equation of motion, where ∂a is the derivative operator linked with _ηab_. In addition, when forces are present, the equation of motion, _ua∂aub_ is nonzero. Furthermore, all material particles have a factor that is known as "rest mass" where m appears as a constraint in the equations of motion when forces are present. We can define the energy momentum 4-vector, _pa_ , of a particle of mass _m_ by this formula," Peter pointed to the correct equation. "Finally, we can define the energy of particle which is measured by an observer – present at the site of the particle – as _E = −pa va_ , where _va_ is the 4-velocity of the observer."

Everyone went silent and the Professor stared at Peter with a hard stare before the expression turned to an impress look.

"Well done, Parker," the Professor congratulated him. "For someone who doesn't pay attention, I say you got the brain. Now then class, for homework, read chapters 1-4 and they are due next week."

Peter let out a sigh of relief as he placed the marker back to the spot and walked towards his seat. That was actually pretty terrifying but he was glad that he got it done. As Peter took his seat, people were already whispering which made Peter glance at them tentatively and he slumped down in his chair.

When the classes are finished, Peter returned to his dorm, tired of all the things that had happened so far. Even solving the equation from physics made him exhausted. When Peter came in, he already saw Harry working furiously on his homework though Harry didn't even acknowledge Peter when he came in. That was until Peter walked towards him; his shadow looming over him.

"Homework?" Peter guessed.

"Yeah. A whole bunch of them. Don't you think the Professors are overdoing it themselves? I mean, the semester has just begun and they're already piling us with homework. It's a bit…overwhelming," Harry spoke as he didn't lifted his head.

Peter gave a small chuckle. "Welcome to the year before the final year…"

As Peter walked away from him, Peter noticed that the newspaper was lying on the floor. Sighing, he picked it up only to stop as he read the headline:

 _DISTURBING MURDER: UNFORGETTABLE SIGHTS_

Peter frowned.

"Hey, uh, have you seen the latest article in the Daily Bugle?" Peter asked

Harry shrugged. "A little. I only skimmed it before having my attention back to homework. It's a bit creepy but the police says to proceed with caution. The last time someone had died, all the police had found was a blood stained trail. There had been eleven murders this past week. The police are baffled…" Harry said though the only thing Peter had his focused on was the picture that was at the front page.

The image contained what it looked like a dark room but inside the darkness was a red blurry dot that seemed to stare back with a sinister look.

Thursday came.

The students could feel their anxiety kicking in. Some of them hadn't have their anxiety kicking in until now. The teachers were strict and firm and there wasn't an ounce of light-hearted humor in their tones. The students all thought that the teachers wanted their pupils to pass but by putting a lot of pressure on them, it didn't exactly helped.

Peter stared longingly out at the window. Even the petty crimes seemed to have dropped low and there wasn't much needed for Spider Man which is unfortunate for Peter as he really wanted to go out, save a few citizens if necessary and just do a short night on patrols. Tony was as of absence since Peter didn't really contacted him in a while; maybe he should…just to give a small update but there wasn't really much to tell.

Other than the article Peter had found out but he was that Tony had already discovered about it.

But because there were murders going on, Peter thought that he should investigate it as Spider Man. It's a bit disturbing though. This…killer that's on the loose only left a blood stained trail for the police to follow. No bodies, no nothing.

As Peter entered in Slatter's classroom on Thursday afternoon, he realized how different it was. The blinds were closed though the lights were still on. Everyone took their usual seats as they all waited for the Professor to start the class. Slatter acted different, Peter noticed. As the class began to be filled, the students gave whispers of curiosity since at the front of the room, there was what it looked like to be a cage that was covered by a blanket and one of the people raised their hand.

"Um, Professor…what's in that cage?" the boy asked.

"That, Mr. McDonnell, is our topic for today," Slatter answered. "Now if everyone could get out of their seats and come around this cage…come on, hurry up."

Everyone scurried out of their chairs and made a half circle around the crate. Once everyone had settled, Slatter began.

"Today's topic…Snake venom and its uses," Slatter started. "There are many venoms whether it comes from snakes or spiders with their fang-like chelicerae which is their mouth part—"

Peter shifted slightly in his spot. He hoped that the cage didn't contained a spider. He was alright with snakes but with spiders? It's a whole different story…

"—Scorpions, bees and wasps from their stingers and the list goes on. It's important to identify which venom you had been injected with so that the said poison could be treated."

"But this goes back to Spider Man, doesn't it?" a student spoke.

"Well, I suppose yes," Slatter nodded. "He hasn't been treated though he looks perfectly fine. Fine and alive and well saving citizens, of course. But anyway…"

Peter slightly scowled at the person who brought the Spider Man topic.

"In here…you'll find a slightly different species. A species that is beyond our imagination…" Slatter spoke with a passionate tone.

And then, Slatter pulled away the cover in a flash only to reveal a strange black goo-like creature that made everyone gasp as they stared at it with wide eyes. It gave out a loud heavy snarl as it slithered around its cage as though it was trying to escape. The students jumped when the being slammed itself against the cage. Peter grew tense just by staring the creature. There was something sinister about it which made Peter be uneasy.

Its empty white eyes stare menacingly at the people who slightly backed away.

"And what is… _that_ , Professor?" a student spoke with a shaky voice.

"That's the thing, isn't it?" Slatter asked. "I've done some research and it shows that this being…this creature…is not of Earth. It's an entirely new species that has yet to be discovered, researched and be shown to the whole world. It's an _alien_ being."

Peter frowned. "Where did you find it, Sir?"

"Believe it or not, it just found its way to my classroom. It slithered in like a snake and so, I've kept it so I can do some research before releasing it," Slatter answered. "While studying it, I've found some rather interesting things about it. However, I would strongly recommend staying away from the creature until further notice. Because this animal is not of Earth, there are things we still don't know about it and that makes them dangerous," Slatter spoke as he grabbed the matchbox that was nearby the crate.

He then took one match and triggered it against the box.

"We must proceed with caution if we were to survive in these dark times," Slatter said as he brought the now lit-match closer to the creature. The being seemed to have respond as it crawled back to a corner in attempt to get away from the heat. Peter watched the varmint as the match came closer and it screeched something awful as it was twitching itself in its spot.

 **Author's Note:** Ungh, finally got it done. I dislike writer's block and everything that it stands for XD but it's done! But…I'll give you three guesses as to what species Slatter got as well as with the murders that's been going on ^^ did I mention things are gonna get dark again? No? Well, it is! Aha! Also, writing with Minkowski space time special relativity was damn hard so I hope I did justice with it. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	6. The Attack on Empire State

Chapter 6: The Attack on Empire State

A man walked down the rainy streets. He wore a long trench coat with a top hat followed by holding a black suitcase at his side. He lifted the scruff of the coat a bit higher so that he could try to keep his neck warm. The man suddenly stopped as he thought he felt a presence near him. He turned around and narrowed his eyes as he scanned the street.

The person gave a one last look before he continued to walk. Quite frankly, he wanted to get home due to having a long hectic day at work and it fully exhausted him. Being a Lawyer was not an easy job. Sure it pays well, but people in that department are so strict, so rude.

A few meters behind him, something disgusting slithered out of its hiding spot and it fixed its beady eyes on the prey. It watched as how the man turned a corner and when it was safe to do so, the being began to make a move.

The man, however, stopped and he turned around only to widen his eyes as he let out a deafening scream when he met by the strangest creature. His scream had ended just as the beast ended him, silencing the man forever.

* * *

Peter frowned as he stared at the newspaper, reading the latest article. Another murder had been made. From what Peter had read, the man was identified as Jack McDonald, being a Lawyer as his job. He got attacked in the same way as all the other dead people had.

Maybe Tony knows something about this. Perhaps he could help.

It's still a bit troubling though.

How the police still haven't caught the killer yet makes Peter feel uneasy. However, Peter had meant to check out the investigation but with all that's happening in University, it slipped out of his mind. If Peter could analyze the pattern on how the murderer is doing this then maybe Peter would have a chance at finding this…psycho.

That being said, maybe going to the Police Department would also help him out.

Peter glanced at the clock that sat upon his desk. He still has time to check out the crime scene before his class starts. Thinking, Peter dropped the newspaper and took out his suit from underneath his bed. Once he got it on, Peter then made his way towards the window, opening it before going through it.

Before he jumped out, he stuck his feet against the wall so that they got stuck to it and turned around so he could close the window. It was then where Peter unlatched himself from the wall, performing a free fall dive before he released his webs, grabbing onto them.

Peter eventually arrived at the crime scene only to find out that there wasn't much to discover. If he remembered correctly, it was a rainy day that day so the rain had washed away the evidence. Sighing, Peter released his webs as he changed his direction; this time, heading towards the Police Department which is where he probably should've went in the first place.

After a quick sneaking in, Peter found the File Room and began to dig the latest criminal activity. Halfway of the pile, Peter finally found the recent activity only to discover that there wasn't much information on it. Peter frowned.

The killer wouldn't be this good at hiding his trail. The person would at least have to leave _something_ behind. All the notes stated that it left a trail of blood and that was it.

Disappointed, Peter placed the files back though a deep dark look settled upon his face as he did so. Something wasn't right about this and Peter would make sure that he would get to the bottom of this.

* * *

A heavy breath was heard as the person dragged his feet. He emerged out of the shadows and started to head towards the opening of the small alleyway so he could head out to the streets.

He knew the police were looking for him.

Just as he was about to exit the alleyway, the person slinked back into the shadows and watched as the other person walked past by him, being unaware. The figure gave one last sweep down the street before it decided to make a move. He should be careful.

He didn't want to take the risk in having caught.

The shadow walked down the empty street but as he did, something caught his eyes. To the side, a newspaper stand was sitting in front of the window though the being gave a glance to the window just to make sure that no one was inside. Even if there was—like employees—they would probably be too busy doing something else.

The person then glanced down only to bare his teeth in anger. Growling, he stalked off with a look of hatred on his face. The newspaper showed the headline:

 _SPIDER MAN: IS HE THE HERO THE WORLD NEEDS?_

Forgetting the news, the person resumed walking down the street as he occasionally turned around corners and as he turned a corner, a bell could be heard which indicated that something had started.

The person looked up only to see the proud Empire Building standing in its glory. He gave a thought.

Perhaps he could go there.

* * *

Peter dragged himself as he entered Biology class but when he did, he gave a curious glance since he saw that there were people which he didn't recognize. He raised an eyebrow though he moved towards his seat so he could put his books on the desk.

They seemed to be surrounding a cage, chattering among it.

"Hey, in case you haven't notice, your class is dismissed," Peter announced as he made his way towards them.

This stopped the students since a few of them had to turn around only to see the boy. However, one of the guys faced Peter with a smirk. It was a boy which Peter hadn't seen him at all so he was unknown to Peter.

The guy had blonde hair with blue eyes that held mischievous. He also had broad shoulders and with a build that was similar to Flash.

The boy smirked. "Don't tell me that," he rolled his eyes. "I don't even have this class."

"Then why are you here?" Peter asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Because I can. Got it?"

Peter glared at him, already being annoyed at him. This guy reminded him of Flash with his personality and his character. The boy stared hard at Peter who didn't backed down.

"I suggest you back down if you know what's good for you," the guy said.

Peter smirked. "You must feel very brave if you're threatening other students. Either that or you're simply a coward."

Growling, the blonde grabbed at the scruff of Peter's shirt. Before he could make a move, a voice got announced.

"Brock," a stern voice called out. "Enough."

The two glared at each other though the newcomer spoke again.

" _Brock_!" he said sharply.

Scoffing, Brock roughly let go of Peter and he turned to see the Professor walking towards him.

"What are you doing here?" Slatter asked, eyes narrowed. "You don't even have Biology. Leave or I'll be forced to call Dean."

Brock scoffed. "Whatever."

Once Brock was gone, Slatter turned his attention to Peter.

"You alright, Parker?" Slatter asked as he went towards his table.

"Um yeah," Peter said absent mindedly. "Who was that?"

Slatter sighed as he stopped what he was doing. "That was Eddie Brock. A trouble student, really. Always doing things what he shouldn't be doing. His cronies as you just saw aren't really doing anything for him. I think they are a bad influence on him but Brock's too blind to see it. He doesn't really have true friends though if he did, well then…I'm sure the outcome would be slightly different."

Nevertheless, Peter resumed going to classes until evening came where he went to Watkins for the Career Seminar.

"Ah, Peter. One of my best students. Welcome," she greeted in her strange voice.

"Um hi."

Once the two got settled, Watkins shuffled some papers before she spoke.

"Right. So, after graduating, where do you want to go? What's your plan?"

"Er…I um I actually don't know," Peter said awkwardly. "I haven't exactly planned it out."

"I suppose you haven't. No matter, no matter. Based on the reports I have here, you have wonderful grades. None of them are suffering which is good. That being said, you are continuing your other classes in a much more advanced level, yes?"

Peter nodded.

"Good. Good. Have you ever thought of being a teacher, possibly for physics? Or something similar of the sort," she suggested. "You seem to have a knack for physics."

Peter thought back to the time where he had a fake job at the Daily Bugle as a photographer. He quite enjoyed that, despite having Jameson breathing down on his neck all of the time but the job doesn't seem to be that bad.

"Um actually, I've been thinking of maybe being a photographer."

"But none of the classes you took aren't for photography. Almost all of them are science based. Are you sure you don't want to be a teacher?"

"Um no offense, Professor Watkins but it can be…difficult and annoying sometimes. I just don't know if I'm able to handle all the pressure," Peter said.

 _Especially with the pressure I have right now,_ Peter thought.

"Hmm...being a teacher does have its challenges but it does gets easier," Watkins agreed. "Think about it, Peter. You still have another year left."

Once the seminar is done, Peter exited out of the room and let out a breath. That went...swell...

Peter glanced to the side, hearing another door being closed.

"Michelle!" Peter called out once he instantly recognized the figure.

Upon hearing her name, Michelle looked up and smiled, walking towards him.

"Hey! I've take it that you also had the Career Seminar?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah. What about you? What did they decide on you?"

"They told me how I should continue on Journalism which I agreed, of course. It would be cool to become a reporter."

Peter grinned. "Cool. I can be your photographer and you can be my reporter and we can get all the inclusives," he laughed.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "You're terrible. But is that what they suggested for you?"

"Actually, Watkins told me to be a Physics Teacher."

"That's great!" she exclaimed. "You always had a knack for physics."

"Yeah but being a teacher isn't really my forte. I've always liked photography. And pretending to work at the Daily Bugle was a cool experience."

Michelle frowned. "I thought you hated that?"

"I disliked Jameson since he was always constantly breathing down on my neck."

Michelle nodded. "That's great and all but the classes don't exactly match the criteria for Photography."

Peter sighed. "I know."

As they passed a hallway, Peter suddenly froze since the hair on his neck stood up and he felt his spider senses buzzing on.

Peter stopped walking as he slightly turned back to stare at the hallway.

"What is it?" Michelle asked, noticing the pause.

Peter didn't answer her as he stared down at the hall.

"Wait here," he said.

Peter walked down the hall, being on guard as he glanced to the side. Peter waited for a few minutes but the senses died down and he walked back to Michelle who had a curious look on her face.

"Nothing. I guess I imagined it," Peter answered. He narrowed his eyes as he gave a one last glance before walking away.

Down at the hall, where Peter walked to examine the apparent danger, a figure slightly peeked out of its hiding spot, staring menacingly at the spot of where the boy stood a few moments ago. It then crawled back, vanishing from sight.

As evening came, Peter found himself walking down the hall, being lost in thought. He still has no traces of the new killer and he has no idea when the attacker is going to strike; it troubles him.

To be honest, he's more worried about the slayer then college right now. He needed to stop him and he felt useless. As he got closer, he suddenly observed that a part of another hallway was suddenly crowded, causing a huge commotion. Furrowing his eyebrows, Peter headed towards the noise and there, he saw a large crowd who were gasping, turning away from the scene.

Peter kept on pushing through people until he came at the front and what he saw shocked him. There was a person lying lifeless, in a pool of blood, while the other student was calling out for help on her phone. Eyes wide, Peter suddenly turned back to the crowd and briskly walked out of there.

However, as he was walking back, he was suddenly rammed into a locker before being pulled by the scruff of his shirt, pulling Peter closer to the person.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, Parker?" the voice spat.

Peter narrowed his eyes as he realized that it was Brock. "Nothing where it concerns you."

Eddie sneered. "You know, you were walking out of there rather suspiciously. People might think that it was _you_."

Peter glared at him. "I would _never_ kill a person. Don't make accusations if you can't prove it. I arrived there just now, you fool and get your hands off me," he roughly shoved Eddie away and the two glared at each other before Peter walked away, giving Eddie a dirty look.

When Peter reached the nearest bathroom, he slammed the door close and stopped to recollect himself. Growling, Peter practically ripped open his clothes to reveal his suit and then pulled out his mask from his pocket, covering his head. He kicked his clothes underneath the sink counter before opening the door, looking left and right and then exited out of the bathroom.

That lead may be the only thing in figuring out who the killer was.

When Peter reached the spot, he noticed that there were a few students left. The dead student and the caller left the scene. Guess help came. Peter waited a few minutes until everyone decided to leave though he went up when people came his way. When the hall was clear, Peter crawled towards the spot where the dead person was a few minutes ago.

But just because the deceased person was removed, it would mean that everyone who was in sight would be in question from the police. The spot seemed to be empty once Peter was able to examine the area.

However, Peter narrowed his eyes when he saw a spot of blood on the floor. Peter touched the blood with a tip of his finger as he studied it. It might from the student since that was the only thing that was visible at that time.

As Spider Man got up, his senses suddenly buzzed on and he turned his head to the side just in time to see something striking his way and he was able to react quickly by jumping in the air, avoiding the attack. The hit smashed the lockers, creating a loud bang.

Spider Man landed on the ground and saw the weapon, transforming itself back into an arm and it slithered back. Peter gaped at the sudden transform and once the arm was back to its normal spot, the figure leaped out of its hiding spot, giving out a snarl.

"Spider Man!" it snarled before making its move.

Peter avoided the oncoming attack though he slid when he landed on his feet.

"What are you?" Peter asked as he watched his weapon transformed back into his hand.

"I don't listen to nuisance like _you_. I don't have to tell you anything!" it snarled. "I just know that I have to take you out. Imagine where there is no more Spider Man. No more good. No more light. Just pure _evil_."

Peter took a brief moment to examine the creature. From what he could tell, it took in a form of a human but with a red costume that seemed to have permanently attach onto him and nasty fangs, looking deadly.

"I'll kill you!" he snarled.

"I don't think so, pal!" Spider Man shouted, avoiding another strike.

Spider Man then shot out a web of streak in attempt to run him over but that plan had failed since the red creature grabbed the string and swung him around. Peter slammed his back against the locker, being a bit dazed.

The being then shot out his own attack in web form which surprised Peter and he managed to avoid them as the creature shoot his webs at him.

"What? How's that possible? How do you have the same powers as I?" Peter asked, disbelief.

The being laughed. "Like this!"

The being then shot out his webs which got attached to the ceiling. He gave out a long scream, forcing himself to pull the stunt. And then, nearly the entire ceiling began to collapse which made Peter widen his eyes as he hurriedly escaped the falling debris. The upper wall groaned as they got detached and the light scraped across the ground, catching up with Spider Man.

Spider Man moved to the side, having the light pole slam into the wall, being stuck forever.

 _Man, why does everything has to happen in school? Then Spider Man gets the blame and everyone goes ballistic which makes Jameson happy. Ungh,_ Spider Man muttered in thought as he moved away from the creature that was chasing after him.

"Every one, move out of the way!" Spider Man shouted as people were running away.

The creature, however, kept on destroying things in its path in attempt to murder Spider Man. This caused Peter occasionally save a few students as he went down the path.

 _There's something I can use on this guy._

As Spider Man leaped, the creature used this chance to form his hand into an axe where he knocked Spider Man out of his course before slamming into him. Peter crashed into a nearby room, colliding into a clutter of noise. When he did though, this seemed to not have settle with the being since it gave a screech.

Peter groaned before quickly getting up to his feet, avoiding the slice. Peter then noticed that he was in the music room which gave him an idea. He saw the piano at the corner and made his way towards it. Screeching, the creature grabbed his ankle before he could reach the piano, forcing Peter fall on the ground.

"Ack! Get off me! Get off me!" Peter yelled, using a nearby object to get his hand off him. It felt disturbingly cold.

"Off! Off! Off!"

Once close enough, Peter used his other foot and slammed the creature on the head which made him let go of Peter. Peter then used his webs to pull the piano to his way, slamming hard into the creature which as a result, it created noise that irritated the being and it trapped him.

Peter paused briefly as he noticed the strange reaction the enemy had given.

It hates noise.

Grinning mischievously, Peter started to gather a ton of instruments and began to bang on most of them. As a result, the creature screeched and snarled as it tried to block out the horrible sound.

"What's the matter? Don't like the music?" Peter smirked as he banged on the drum before going onto the harp.

The attacker screamed, thrashing itself around before it grabbed a nearby desk and threw it at Peter. Peter widened his eyes which made him leap backwards, going over the desk, letting it crash into a wall.

 _Time to end this._

With that, Peter resumed creating bigger sound to tick off the monster. The fiend lost its footing, stumbling forward and Peter used this chance to run towards him. Peter leaped into the air, slamming his feet against the enemy which made the brute smash against the window and he fell out.

Peter waited for a minute before he walked towards the window, peering down. Taking out a breath, Peter looked at the smashed window one last time until he noticed something that grabbed his attention. A small drop of blood was one of the broken pieces. Eyes narrowed, Peter carefully broke the shard and he brought it closer to him, bringing it into the sunlight. He then placed it underneath his web shooter carefully and walked away from the window, having a darken look.

"And don't come back."

 **Author's Note:** Aha! Finally got it done! Anyone know who it is? What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	7. The Blood of a Killer

**Shout Outs: **Thanks to Phoenix X 2 for favoring the story.

* * *

Chapter 7: The Blood of a Killer

Tony stared at the TV screen with a hardened loon on his face. It appears that the enemies have gotten a lot quicker if they could track Spider Man that easily. In all honesty, it worried Tony and he wondered just how much Peter was able to hold it.

Frowning, Tony turned on the volume from the TV, listening to the report.

"... _There had been an attack on the Empire State. The students were frightened but during the fight, no one was harmed. It appeared that Spider Man defeated the creature since it has not been heard in a while. However, the police are investigating the scene that tore apart a hallway."_

On the TV, it showed the lights dangling from the ceiling and sparks flew from them. The entire wall was broken, having its debris scattered throughout the ground.

" _The police may have to close off this hallway until further notice. They stated that it is too dangerous for the students to walk by. However, just before the battle, a student had been murdered. The murder may lead to the creature that attacked Empire State though the police didn't confirmed nothing yet."_

 _Jesus Christ,_ Tony thought as he stared at the broken hall.

A sudden _thump_ startled Tony as he muted down the news and stared up only to see Spider Man swinging in.

"Peter," Tony breathed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Peter muttered as he carefully slid the broken shard out of its spot. The blood might've been smudged a bit.

"Do you think you could analyze the blood?" Peter asked.

Tony nodded as he got up, walking towards him. He took the shard away, staring at it.

"Yes. Just come back tomorrow or whenever. But are you _sure_ you're alright? Every time an enemy comes, it gets worse. It's so easy to track you as Spider Man. Please, Pete. Be careful."

Peter started to walk away but before he exited, he slightly turned his head to the side and spoke.

"I will."

* * *

Peter awoke the next morning. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes, staring at the ceiling before checking his phone which was on the ground.

 _8am._

He groaned, returning back to bed, throwing the covers on him. Of all the days he could've slept in, he had to choose Saturday to wake up early.

"Hey Peter."

"Go away. Let me sleep."

"You're such a diva. Wake up, you fool."

A pillow was thrown at Peter but that had little impact since Peter was still under covers.

"I want to sleep," Peter shut his eyes tighter.

"Your phone just vibrated," Harry said in an annoyed voice.

Groaning, Peter threw the covers off and shuffled himself towards the side of the bed so that he could grab it. When he turned it on, Peter had his eyes wide as he realized who the text was from.

"He has it!" Peter exclaimed.

"Who?"

"Nothing."

Almost immediately, Peter hurriedly scrambled off the bed and began to have a tug o war with his Spider suit. He then grabbed his web shooters, shooting it at the window and yanked it up. Just from seeing the Spider suit, Harry knew where he was headed to.

"You're going to Tony?"

"Yeah. He got some stuff," Peter answered.

Before Peter left, Peter turned to the side and shot another streak of web so that it got attached to his pillow and Peter grabbed it. He then twirled around, performing a slam dunk with the pillow so that it struck Harry.

"That's payback."

* * *

"You got the info?" Spider Man asked as he was sliding in the room.

Tony gave him a questioning look. "Nah, I just thought that I would randomly sent out a text."

Peter rolled his eyes at Tony's sarcasm. "Very funny."

Tony chuckled a bit. "So...how's school?"

"It's alright...when you don't have maniacs on your trail all the time. Oh and I've met a new bully."

"Oh? Well...if he continues to annoy you, you could...you know...show some of Spider magic," Tony winked.

Peter grinned.

"Right. So," Tony began to click away on the keyboard and pulled out the images.

"Here's your guy," Tony announced.

The image showed the red creature that attacked Empire State. The menacing eyes sent a shiver down Peter's spine though his look hardened.

"Cletus Kasady," Tony said. "Had a troubled life and he was sent to St. Estes Home for Boys. Eventually he became a serial killer."

Peter frowned. "So…then what's the red suit for? Identity, I know but how can he have the same ability as I do? What's making him to have it?"

"I've also done some more digging and Cletus goes by another name: Carnage. But the thing is, it appears that Cletus is actually _bonding_ with someone," Tony said as he showed the two DNAs. "Whatever is bonding with Cletus, that's the reason why it has the same abilities as you do."

Peter sat in thought, registering the information. A small flashback went into his mind as he remembered how the noise bothered that creature.

"Then what's the weakness?"

"The weakness is however you had defeated him for now."

"The last time I did, it was with sound. That creature with Cletus can't stand sound but it just can't be loud noises."

Tony sighed. "I know this is troubling but I'll spend more time on digging up some more information about this…being. In the meantime, you keep out of trouble."

"Fat chance," Peter slightly smirked.

Peter later reached the dorm where he crawled through the window and took off the mask.

Tired, he flopped himself on the bed, resting for a bit. However, the door being opened caught his attention though he ignored it.

"You're back," Harry announced.

"Uh huh," Peter muffled.

"So any lead on whatever it is you're looking for?"

Sighing, Peter turned to the other side, letting out another breath.

"It turns out that the creature is bonding with the actual being. He goes by as Cletus Kasady. He's the one who's behind all of the murders and he also has the same abilities as me which is unnerving," Peter answered with a small scowl on his face.

"Sounds like fun."

"No, it really isn't. Do you not know how annoying it is for an enemy to do the things you could do? They could frame me...again!" Peter exclaimed.

"Even so...I'm pretty sure the public won't fall for the same trick again. At least, this time, and like the other times, you'd have the police with you," Harry made a small smile.

Peter spent the following week, wondering the many different weaknesses of the strange creature he had encountered. To be honest, Peter felt a bit outmatched with this beast.

He felt as though this enemy is a lot stronger than he is. That being said, Peter thought he could make a new suit—a suit that would survive in a battle. He needed a new upgrade anyway and maybe some new sturdier web shooters although the ones he currently has aren't bad but there's no problem in upgrading them.

Smiling, Peter pushed the bad thoughts away and started to think up of a new design for his costume.

Throughout the days, Peter began to work on his outfit secretly, drawing out new sketches during classes though he would have to sometimes close the notebook and pretend to have paid attention whenever his name was called out.

"Peter, are you still with us?" Watkins announced.

Peter blinked, closing the notebook as he looked up. "Um, yeah. Yeah."

However, doing new designs turned out to be complicated since Peter would sometimes rip out pages from the book if he didn't like the designs. Irritated, Peter stopped for a moment, having his head against the wall of his dorm and looked out at the window from the side. He was impatiently tapping the pencil against his leg and sat in silence as though that would somehow make him have inspirations for his outfit.

Annoyed, Peter threw the notebook to the side and grabbed the newspaper, flipping through the pages, hoping to have some news on Cletus. It appeared that Cletus went quiet after the encounter with Spider Man but as Peter flipped to the next page, a headline grabbed his attention and he furrowed his eyebrows.

 _GREEN SIGHTINGS CONTINUE_

Peter paused in his thoughts as he recalled that there were green sightings from last year but he hadn't checked them out yet as he thought it didn't really pose any danger though if the article reprinted the same story then perhaps he should check it out.

Just in case.

"For Pete's sake," an irritated voice snapped Peter from his thoughts. He saw Harry walking in and threw his phone to the bed while dumping his bag to the floor.

"What happened? Girl problem?" Peter teased.

"No. It's just my dad," Harry muttered. "Every time I try to reach him, he just pushes me away like I'm some worthless scum or something. He always claim that he's always busy with his damn work. Like I get it but…you know…" he trailed off, heaving out a heavy sigh.

In a way, Peter supposed he could feel what Harry was feeling but Peter's dad wasn't so cold and distant like Harry's.

"Well…do you know what he's working on? Like what projects?" Peter asked.

Harry snorted. "He _never_ lets me in on anything about his work. Always a secret and sometimes, I wonder _why_."

"If you're curious then maybe you know…you and I could find out…?" Peter suggested.

"And risk getting caught? No way. Thanks Pete but I like to live my life."

"No but really. If you're that curious and if you want to know what project your dad's working on, you should see it. You do have access to his office, don't you?"

Harry shrugged. "It depends. Sometimes, I have access if he only wants to see me for something. Other times he just kicks me out," he scowled.

"Look: I'll go with you as Spider Man. I'll take out all the cameras and the security systems and everything and we—you—can discover what he's working on. Come on Harry. I know deep down you know want to do this. You want to know the secrets that lurks in his lair."

Harry rolled his eyes at Peter's dramatic antics. "My dad isn't a mad evil scientist but thanks," Harry drawled. He then trailed his eyes down as he suddenly noticed a pile of crunched papers at the side of the bed on the floor.

"What's up with the papers?" Harry pointed it out.

Peter sighed. "I'm working on a new suit design and I'm having some trouble coming up with them. I want this costume to be sturdier—you know, so it doesn't rip and stuff."

Harry made a small scoff. "Good luck."

Peter made a small smile before he went back to the newspaper. The headline of _GREEN SIGHTINGS CONTINUE_ had once more grabbed the attention from him. He suddenly paused as he continued to stare at the storyline. A sudden dark thought entered his mind, going previous to Harry's conversation.

" _My dad isn't a mad evil scientist but thanks."_

He gazed at it before shrugging it, tossing the newspaper to the side.

Nah, that wasn't Harry's dad.

It was a much too coincidence.

Sometime later in the afternoon, Peter met up with Gwen who seemed to be annoyed since she was talking to a guy named Luke.

"Aw come on, please? I'll take you out to a dinner," Luke pleaded.

"No," Gwen said firmly. "I'm _not_ doing your homework for you."

Peter slightly made a smile at the brief conversation that had been going on.

"How about just a bit?" Luke continued.

Gwen sighed. " _Fine_. I'm only going to do the introduction paragraph. The rest's on you."

"You're amazing, Gwen."

Peter chuckled at the final decision. As Peter was walking, Gwen (with a grumpy look) changed her expression when she saw Harry walking down the hall though Harry looked a bit…frustrated which made her wonder what had happened.

A _fumph_ sound came when Peter collided into something solid and he looked up only to see an angry Harry.

"Hey Harry—"Gwen started.

"Peter, I need you for a minute," Harry said hastily before roughly yanking him away from the two.

Once they were from ear shot from Gwen and Luke, Harry spoke. "I need your help."

"For what?" Peter asked confused.

Harry gritted his teeth. "I'm going to break into my dad's company."

 **Author's Note:** Are you SURE you should be doing that, Harry? Peter, you're a bad influence—you're supposed to NOT encourage him /sigh/ but Peter's going to get a new suit, huzzah! Can you guess what it is? And Cletus made an appearance! What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	8. The Nerd Club

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to NatureSorcerer for favoring and following the story.

* * *

Chapter 8: The Nerd Club

Peter stared at Harry with an incredulous look on his face.

"Are you sure?" he asked flabbergasted.

Harry nodded. " _Yes_. I'm done being in the dark. I want to know what he's hiding."

"What's giving you an impression that he's hiding something?"

Harry bit his lip. "Just a hunch, I guess. So…will you come?"

Peter sighed. He knew he's the one who had encouraged Harry in the first place but now he's starting to regret it.

"Fine. We'll break into your dad's company tonight."

Despite the fact that Harry agreed with Peter, Peter resumed working on his new design though he hoped he would have the costume done sometime soon. He wondered if Tony had any new patterns but regardless, Peter wanted this to be done by _him_.

Sighing, Peter closed the notebook and started to pay attention for once as Warren wrote down the equations. The equations looked easy to solve and Peter was about to raise his hand up until someone else beat to him. A girl with brown hair raised her hand up quicker.

"Yes Miss Cassidy," Warren called on her.

"You would have to remove the x2 in order to balance the equations before applying the rules of relativity."

"That's correct," Warren nodded.

Peter eyed the brunette who went back to her notebook. Gwen turned to the side and noticed Peter staring at the girl. She shook her head, rolling her eyes before going back to her work.

"I have marked your quizzes from yesterday and they would be handed back to you. Miss Cassidy, if you would please."

The girl handed out the test papers and most of the people started to compare their answers with their friends.

"Congratulations, Peter. You got a hundred percent," Mia Cassidy smiled at him.

"Um…thanks…" Peter responded, taking the paper. He felt himself go warm and watched Mia walking away. When she sat with her friends, a few of them started to giggle as they started whispering.

A cloud of blonde came into the view and it tried to snap Peter back to reality.

"Earth to Peter. Come in, Peter."

"What?" Peter asked absent mindedly.

Gwen sighed, smirking a bit. "Someone has a crush on her."

Eyes wide, Peter tore his gaze away, reddening. "No, I don't!" he stammered.

"Uh huh. Which is why your face is red," Gwen grinned. "Why don't you ask her out to the big football game which is next Friday?"

"Er…um…I can't," Peter mumbled.

"And why not?"

"I'm er…busy."

Gwen rolled her eyes. "You either don't want to or you're too scared. Come on, Pete. Take her up before someone else does. You're going to regret it."

"Whatever," Peter muttered.

"Ungh, you're so annoying. Anyway, have you decided on what clubs to join? They'll be counted for extra credits. I've already joined a few but their mostly for science and computers."

Peter looked surprised. "Computers? In all honesty, I never expected you to have a thing for computers."

Gwen chuckled a bit. "Surprise, surprise. Regardless, if you don't know what clubs, I can help you out. How about it?"

Peter paused. He had been so busy being Spider Man and investigating the new murderer and that had taken up some of his 'me time' so maybe joining clubs wouldn't be so bad.

"Alright," Peter agreed.

After biochemistry, Gwen led Peter to the bulletin board that had many flyers and notices including the one where it shows off the football game.

 _Want to show your spirit? Ask the Head Coach of Football to apply for the Mascot position!_

"I thought we already had a mascot?" Peter asked.

"We did but apparently, according to the team, the one who played the mascot got injured."

"And that's why I think you would be great in a mascot costume, Parker."

Peter quirked an eyebrow. "Go away, Flash. I don't need your opinions."

"Aw cheer up, Parker. I knew you were always moody but I really think that the mascot would identify you. Both of you are grumpy," Flash sneered.

"You're so retarded," Gwen muttered. Peter disregarded him as he felt his phone vibrating and he took it out.

Ignoring her, Flash continued. "Do you know what will be cool? Imagine Spider Man coming into the big game. That would be so cool."

Peter suddenly dropped his phone as he heard the suggestion. Eyeing the sudden action, Gwen gazed at Peter before she spoke.

"Yeah that would be but I hear he's really busy. I'm sure he's investigating the murderer who had been lurking around. I mean, even my dad is being troubled by this killer and he had to bring up the news to the dead student's parents. It's tough."

Peter wanted to ask if Captain Stacy had gotten any other leads but he dropped it as it would probably raise too much suspicious since Spider Man is also being the topic.

"Yeah sure…" Flash muttered, glaring at Peter.

Smirking, Peter went back to the list of clubs that were listed on a paper. He stopped skimming as a club grabbed his notice.

"Spider Man club?" Peter asked stunned.

"Oh yeah. I actually made up that club and naturally, it got accepted," Flash boasted.

Peter twitched, wondering why Flash was his biggest fan. It honestly scared him.

"Yeah? What's in the club other than the obvious?" Peter shot him a glare. "Singing Spider Man songs?"

Grinning, Flash spoke. "Actually yes. We just made up a song. Want to hear it?"

"No. It would shatter my eardrums," Peter abruptly answered.

"Why don't you join it?" Gwen suggested.

"I'll pass. Besides, I've found something I'm interested in. The Technology club and Photography," Peter said.

"Photography? The only thing you'll be taking pictures is no one," Flash smirked.

"Goodbye, Gwen," Peter said sharply as he roughly shoved past by Flash. He had no desire to be hanging around with Flash.

Peter headed his way towards his first club. He supposed it wouldn't be too bad though he hoped he won't regret it. Peter pushed the door open and when he did, an object—that looked like a drone—flew past by him and he grabbed the small machine.

"Hey, hands off the drone!"

"Uh sorry. Sorry," Peter said, letting go of it.

"And close the door."

"Sorry."

The boy walked up to him, shaking his head. "Honestly. Hasn't anyone taught you not to take something that isn't yours? Sheesh," he took his drone away and examined it.

"Hasn't anyone taught you how to fly that thing?" Peter muttered.

He began to walk his way towards the desk though he got stopped by three people.

"Hey, we got a new one," one of them spoke.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Peter stared at the boys and he eyed at the table. "Uh, to sit down?" he said as though it was the most obvious answer.

"Un huh. You see, you gotta talk to the Captain first, pass the frighteningly hard questions and then the Captain will get to decide if you can join," the second boy spoke.

Sighing, Peter spoke. "Fine then. Who's the Captain?"

"You're talking to him," the boy in the middle announced.

Peter moved his eyes to stare at the boy. He had curly hair with glasses and a petite frame and in all honesty, he doesn't look intimidating. Yet again, this was the 'Nerd Club' as how most people would put it.

Deciding to play along, Peter shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Fine. Go for it."

Creepily, the leader took a step forward and stared directly at Peter who felt disturbed since his face was closer to his.

"Are you ready to change the future by making future technology that could have an incredible impact to the world by voicing out your opinions?" the leader said with a serious look on his face.

Peter gaped at him, eyes wide. He noticed that the entire room went silence and everyone was staring at him.

"Um…sure," Peter said with a confused look.

The Captain made a smile. "Great! Welcome to the club erm…"

"Parker. Peter Parker."

"Welcome to the club, Parker!" the Captain shouted and made a hard pat on Peter's shoulder which made him stumble. Peter flashed a weak smile as he fixed his backpack's strap on his shoulder.

"Wait—"Peter asked. "You said questions as in more than one…"

Frowning, the person in charge fixed his glasses. "And I did asked you questions."

"But—"

"There were two questions in one go. Period," one of the boys said as he passed by Peter and he had a calculator on his hand. His eyes being too focused on it.

"Alright team, listen up!" the leader boomed.

The group settled around though Peter was slightly away from the team by being at a one desk behind. He took his seat and watched the group.

"What are the rules for showing a new rookie?"

"Make him feel welcome!"

"That's right," the boss nodded. "And what are our important words?"

"All for one and one for all!" the group proclaimed as they all raised their hands up in the air.

Peter stared at them and rested his head on his arms. Sure, Peter was a nerd but he wasn't that much of a geek…was he?

Sheesh. Nerds.

Peter lifted his head as something caught his eye. Curiously, he walked towards the object that was resting on top of the desk. It looked nothing special; just an ordinary bracelet. Peter was about to touch it until someone grabbed his wrist.

"Don't touch it," the boy said, annoyed at Peter's lack of resistance.

"Why not?"

"It's obviously not finished yet. I've been trying to get it fixed especially with the circuits' area but I'm just not able to find out what the problem is."

"Maybe I could help."

The boy scoffed. "Please. What could you do?"

Peter frowned, snatching his wrist away. "A lot more than you think," he huffed.

After the club ended, Peter returned to this dorm later in the evening where he found Harry getting dressed. Peter frowned, shutting the door which gained Harry's attention.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked.

Harry stopped what he was doing and looked to see Peter. He gave him a look as though Peter should know where he was going.

"We're going to break into my dad's company, remember?"

Peter winced as the conversation from previous came into his mind. "Ah, that's right. I promised you I would help you."

Harry snorted. "Don't tell me you've forgotten it?"

"Just a little…" Peter muttered and sighed. "Well, a promise is a promise, right? I'll go and get change."

After they were done, Peter made sure that the door stayed locked before he went towards the window, opening it. He turned to the side and stared at Harry.

"Ever learned how to fly?"

Harry hesitated. "Um no. But…it can't be that bad, can it?"

And a few minutes later, Harry found himself falling down and screamed.

"I REGRET WHAT I HAD SAID! IT'S BAD!" Harry screamed as he resumed falling.

Peter chuckled as he was free falling, catching up with Harry. Peter grabbed his arm and swung him from behind so that Harry was able to secure his grip around Peter's shoulder.

"Had fun?" Peter chuckled.

"No," Harry groaned. "Hurry up. I think I'm going to be sick."

Peter frowned. "You better not throw up on my suit."

They eventually reached the company where Peter attached to himself against a window. A small flashback came into his mind as he remembered the last time he visited OsCorp.

"Okay. The minute we get into, you have to be quick. I can only hold the securities for so long before they know something's up. Got it?"

"Something tells me you had broken in here before."

"Yeah," he muttered.

Peter found an entrance and he snuck in, crawling through a vent. He peeked through the grate, eyeing the people who were passing by. Peter waited for a few minutes until he was absolutely sure that it was clear before pushing the vent open with his feet.

Spider Man grabbed it the door before it fell and he placed it inside to the side. He then jumped down followed shortly by Harry.

"Right. I'll go to the securities to disable them and you go to your dad's office…or wherever he usually goes. Probably to the lab. I'll meet you there."

Harry nodded. "If anything, it's at his lab although going to his office won't be a bad idea. It'll be the science lab, naturally. Third floor. Door to the right the second you reach the hallway."

With a short nod, the two departed their ways though Peter stayed a bit behind just to make sure Harry was alright. Once Harry was out of sight, Peter began to go to the opposite direction and he made his way towards the security room though sometimes, he would have to stay hidden so that there wouldn't be any necessary attention.

He eventually reached the room though he paused, having thoughts in his mind since there might be the security people in there, obviously watching over the cameras.

Smirking, Peter knocked on the door before flinging himself upwards.

"What now?" the annoyed voice spoke. He opened the door only to see that no one was there though he narrowed his eyes as he stared down the hallway.

"Who is it?" One of the people asked.

"Uh, no one."

As the person turned his back, Peter hung from above and used his heal so that he kicked at the back of his head. Of course, this gained the awareness in the room as everyone stopped what they were doing and they all looked at the intruder. If he hadn't wore a mask, the team would've saw the cheeky smile.

"Hey guys," Peter greeted. "You don't mind if I come in, do you?"

"Intruder!" one of them snarled and they began to charge at him.

Peter sighed. Fools.

Almost immediately, Peter released his webs so that it got attached to the group and Peter brought them closer together after he yanked them. He then released another web, tying it around the workers which let Peter pull them away from the room and out into the hallway. Peter then attached them to the wall with another set of webs.

"I hope you don't take this personal," Peter said. "So if you don't mind, I'll be messing around with your stuff."

Peter walked in, closing the door and stared at the cameras.

 _Alright, Harry. Time to help you out._

* * *

It wasn't easy which made Harry wonder how on Earth Peter does it. He probably had lots of practices though Harry assumed half of those practices had many mistakes.

Upon reaching the destination, Harry supposed that there would obviously be employees at this hour. If he had ever got caught, he would have to think of a lie. Hesitating slightly, Harry pushed the door open and he was right since there were a few people in the lab.

He would have to be careful since he doesn't know much of combat. Combat meaning knocking people out by hitting at their heads with a heavy object. He'll leave that to Peter.

As he was carefully sneaking in, he stayed hidden behind the desks as he eyed the employees who were working on some kind of equipment. To be honest, perhaps Harry should've went to the office first just because Harry couldn't see that an ordinary looking lab could have something dark hidden.

He resumed sneaking around until something appeared from behind. At first, he didn't really notice until it spoke.

The voice cleared his throat, startling Harry.

"What on Earth are you doing?"

The unexpected voice made Harry turn around as he had also started to speak.

"Damn it. You startled me, Pe—"Harry stopped in mid-sentence saw he that it was one of his dad's employees with a frown upon his face.

Shit, Harry thought.

"Um…erm…hi, Dr. Owen…" Harry said uneasily.

Dr. Owen had short blonde hair with a less athletic build. He was covered in a white lab coat as he wore glasses which hid his sharp blue eyes. He also had a slightly pointy chin and judging by his character, Owen looked rather nice.

"What are you doing here, Harry?" Dr. Owen repeated his previous question.

Harry inhaled as he racked his brain for a story. "Um, I'm here to pick up some blueprints for my dad. He forgot to take it home so I thought I would receive it and you know…bring it to him…" Harry trailed off, giving him a sheepish grin.

Dr. Owen raised an eyebrow as he stared at Harry with a doubtful look which made Harry slightly shift in his spot, hoping that he would buy the lie.

"Blueprints? For what? For his new experiment?"

"Um, yes. Yes."

Owen stared at him for a few minutes, muttering. "I wasn't aware that he had told you about his new project but very well."

Harry breathed out a sigh of relief though something told him that Dr. Owen merely pretended to believe the story just so he wouldn't be wasting time. As Harry followed Owen, he kept an eye out for the cameras; the lab was bound to have some.

When he found it, he noticed that the camera doesn't have the red dot on which made him grin.

Nice going, Pete. Now where the hell are you?

They reached at the back of the lab, entering the closed room which had a sign that read _:_

 _AUTHORIZED EMPLOYEES ONLY_

Harry chuckled. Sorry dad.

Once in, Dr. Owen started to search for the outline of the project. He found it in one of the folders and he took it out. For a brief moment, Owen paused for a bit then went towards Harry, carrying the papers.

"Here you are," Owen stated and began to hand the papers.

"Thanks," Harry said a bit too eagerly. He was about to take it until Owen slightly withdrew the outline.

"I don't know what you're planning with this, Harry but just be careful. Whatever you are finding, just know that the truth will not be easy," Owen replied before giving the papers to him.

Owen exited the room and closed the door. However, when Owen was completely gone, Harry slightly opened the door so that Peter could come in…wherever he was. Harry then went to the back of the room to lay out the papers.

What he saw was unexpected. The papers held some kind of designs followed by different kinds of formulas.

"I've saw that equation before," another voice announced.

Harry whirled around only to see Peter dangling upside down from his webs, staring at the outlines.

"Honestly, Peter," Harry muttered. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Sorry. I had a bit of trouble. Can we go? We got less than half an hour. Take the papers and let's go."

Harry shook his head. "I have to return them back otherwise when my dad comes in tomorrow, he'll notice that these are gone. I don't think Owen bought my lie when I've said I needed the blueprints."

"So why did he gave them to you?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe he felt bad? I don't know," he sighed. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, you said that you saw the equation from before, right? You must know what it is then."

Sighing, Peter unscrambled himself as he went down, landing on his feet. He studied the complex formula.

"It's an equation for cross-species…" Peter trailed off. "Why would your dad need a cross species formula?"

Harry snorted. "You think my dad tells me everything? You wish."

Peter looked all over the paper, trying to see if this project had any title. He removed some of the papers from the table until he saw a blank paper with words on it:

 _PROJECT GREEN_

"Project Green?" Peter asked, frowning.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know…"

Peter looked up at the door, narrowing his eyes and he placed down the paper.

"We have to go."

 **Author's Note:** Tadaa! Harry begins to learn what his dad is up to! Project Green! Any takers as to what it is? And Peter joins his own kind by going to a club. That should be fun XD AND DID ANYONE SAW THE INFINITY WAR TRAILER! GAHH! What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	9. An Honest Mistake

Chapter 9: An Honest Mistake

Edward 'Eddie' Brock stared at the newspaper with a frown on his look. Lately, the news ever talked about Spider Man. Spider Man this, Spider Man that. Grunting, Eddie threw the paper away. What makes Spider Man so important? So special? Other than having Spider-like powers and saving people.

The cops can save people. That's their job anyway.

Shaking his head, he eyed the many group of students who were walking down the halls of the cafeteria. Putting Spider Man aside, he recalled that he met that puny kid in biology before. He would've been able to put him in place if it wasn't for the Professor who stepped in and kicked him out.

That kid was such a nerd and even looked like one. Eddie would be honestly surprised if that kid had friends. Rolling his eyes, he then went back to the time where he was standing around with his friends, surrounding the cage that was covered.

That really had got him curious. He wanted to know what was in there.

Eddie checked the time on his phone. It was still lunchtime so that should mean that the Biology class should be empty. Of course, it would be locked but thanks to some experience, Eddie knows how to pick a lock.

Smirking, Eddie gathered the items which he would need for picking a lock. Once he had it, he went to the Biology class and found out that the hall wasn't full of people which he was glad for.

Yet again, it was lunchtime.

Taking out the items, Eddie began to pick the lock, fiddling it around until he finally heard the click. He pulled out the object away, stuffing it in his pocket and opened the door. He didn't bother turning on the lights since the classroom wasn't that dark.

 _Alright, little beast. Where are you hiding now?_

It didn't took long at all since that 'beast' was at the back of the room, still being covered.

 _If he was that important, then why are there no securities or something?_

Eddie walked towards the back table and then removed the cover from the cage once he reached it. The creature instantly gave out a horrendous screech, crawling to the corner of the cage, away from Eddie who sneered.

"Hello there, little beast. Don't mind me. I'm just trying to see why you're so special," Eddie muttered.

He opened the cage by unlocking the latch and the second he did, the creature instantly jumped from his spot, attacking Eddie head on, covering his face.

"Argh! Get it off me!" Eddie exclaimed, trying to grab a hold of it. The creature wouldn't budge since it stubbornly latched onto him like a leech. After struggling for a bit, Eddie finally tore off the being from his face and he threw it away, having the beast fly through the room before smacking against the wall and then disappeared from sight.

 _Jesus…_ Eddie thought as he was shaking. Having heavy breaths, Eddie resumed searching for the critter, going to the spot where he flung it. He went down on his knees and looked underneath the counter only to find that the spot was empty.

 _Where are you?_ Eddie thought angrily.

He got up, placing his hands on the table though when he did, he slipped and caught himself. Narrowing his eyes, he lifted his hand only to see that it was spotless though that didn't stopped him from examining his hand and turned around to stare at the counter.

Unfortunately, the spot was empty. Scowling, Eddie decided that he had enough and began to walk out of the room. As he did, he was unaware that the little critter was crawling behind him and into his back pocket.

* * *

Harry and Peter were walking towards their dorm. They both just got off from one of their classes which made Harry have more than enough time to think about the project his dad was working on.

Peter narrowed his eyes as he stared at his friend from the side. Harry seemed different when they got out of his dad's company; he was quiet and more thoughtful.

"Will you ease up?" Peter asked.

"No," Harry said irritably.

"Overthinking it will make matters worse. I'm just as curious as you are as to what Project Green is but going insane wouldn't make things any better."

"Says you. You've been busy nonstop by focusing on your new suit," Harry mumbled. "What could he possibly be working on that he can't tell me?"

"Don't look at me. I only gave a possible suggestion but I have no idea if that's even the real reason," Peter responded.

"Hmm…"

"Hey, Parker!"

Sighing, Peter turned around and stared at the person who called his name. He recognized her as Sara Carson; a girl who hung out with Brock.

"There you are," she stated as she pushed through the crowd. "I was looking all over for you," she smiled though it had no effect on Peter.

"Hey Sara," Harry said as he leaned against a wall.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Listen, I'm having a party this Friday after the big game and I'm wondering if you could maybe come over?"

"I'll think about it," Peter muttered. The last time he went to a party, things got a bit out of control and he didn't want to experience it again.

"Come on. Please?" she pleaded, going closer to him which made Peter be uncomfortable. He slightly shivered when she touched his arm and he withdrew it.

Peter stared at her for a brief moment. "Ungh fine. But only if my friend can come," Peter said as he motioned to Harry who gave a cheeky grin.

With a scowl, Sara huffed. "Fine. See you at seven."

As Sara went from sight, Harry whistled. "Man. You got the hottest girl going after you. Why the heck won't you date her? Damn it."

"Because I'm not interested in dating! If I want to be single then I will. I will forever remain single, be a grandpa and watch Netflix," Peter declared.

Harry snorted. "You're so lame."

As Harry began to walk, he suddenly paused. "Hold on. Didn't you also promised that you would be at the big game this Friday?"

Peter threw him a look. "I didn't promise anything. Flash pressured me. Spider Man's not a trick."

"I know but come on. Live a little. It would be so cool if Spider Man came to the game. Do you not know how much audience it'll have?"

Peter sighed. He supposed he could have a break. After all, there seemed to be no sightings on Cletus or even that green sighting. Maybe he could have a little break.

"You know what? Scratch that. Spread the word. Spider Man's coming home."

And so Friday came.

Peter couldn't believe how much excitement it has in the air and it was all because of spreading the word that Spider Man would be coming. The halls were busy with excited chatters and they were filled with students who were wearing the blue and red color, representing Spider Man as well as the colors for the football team. To be honest, it actually made Peter a bit nervous even though no one knows who Spider Man really is.

Everywhere he looked, there were posters and flyers hung around the walls with Spider Man on it.

"I can't believe it has this much excitement," Peter stared at the halls with wide eyes.

"Makes you feel pretty great, doesn't it?" Harry grinned.

Peter agreed that he would help out Harry to give out items for the game so the people could root. They were currently sitting on their chairs in the foyer with a table being filled with items such as flags, finger signs for number one and so on.

"I'm actually nervous, to be honest," Peter said, eyeing the students who actually had face paint.

"Dude, no one knows who you are so relax. You got it under control," Harry dismissed it as he helped a group of people.

"Aww, isn't this cute? Two ballerinas helping out."

Peter scowled as he looked up. "Go away, Brock. We're busy."

Eddie snorted. "Yeah right. I can't believe anyone would want this junk."

"It's called showing 'your spirit'. You know…the thing you don't have because you're spiritless," Peter said.

Harry chuckled as Eddie growled. Eddie slammed his hands, startling Harry as he glared at Peter.

"You better watch it Parker or I'll break every bone in your body," Eddie snarled.

With that, Eddie stalked off and Peter threw him a dirty look.

"Can I throw him out the window?" Peter exclaimed.

"I wish but you can't. He's the quarterback."

And that made Peter hate Eddie even more.

Eventually, the game arrived and everyone started piling towards the large stadium that had bleachers, looking down at the long field where both of them had large goal posts at each side. There were cheerleaders on the field, performing their routines; some of them were shaking their pompoms in their air as a few people executed flips.

The audience cheered at the successful landing of the backflips. Meanwhile in the Boys changing room, Peter paced back and forth, shaking off his nervousness but that didn't work. Why the hell was he so nervous? All he had to do was just show up in his Spider suit, say a few words and then get out and maybe humiliate Eddie while he's at it.

However, this didn't seem different back to the time where the whole city at an event just for Spider Man. Now _that_ was a lot of people.

Taking in a breath, Peter grabbed his mask and stared at it.

It was time.

As the stadium got filled with audiences, the speaker went to the middle of the field with a microphone in his hand.

"Hello Empire State! And welcome!" the announcer shouted and that made the crowd go wild as loud cheers erupted.

"Welcome to the big game! I hope everyone's excited just as I am since we were all waiting for this. This game will determine who will take the trophy home and to top it all off, this is the moment you'll have been waiting for. Let's hear it for the hero of New York. The one. The only. SPIDER MAN!"

And the cheers erupted, louder than before. Right on cue, Spider Man flipped through the air as his name was announced and he landed on the ground which made everyone scream. Peter raised his head as he stared at the crowd and he couldn't help but to feel excited. The nervousness he had disappeared and he let himself come clean.

Spider Man grabbed the microphone and spoke.

"I think pretty much everything was said but the question remains: ARE YOU READY?"

The audience all cried out, showing their enthusiasms.

"Then here they are. Our team…the RAIDERS!"

And then the team came from the entrance as they all ran towards the field. As they did, the cheerleaders were executing their moves, showing their spirits.

"And from Steel University. The…STORMS!" Peter shouted though with much less enthusiasm. Even the audience seemed to dislike the opposite team.

Among the commotion, Eddie scowled as he stared at Spider Man who apparently made a lame joke though the audience laughed at it. He huffed, glaring at the vigilante. Tonight, the limelight was supposed to be on _him_. Not Spider Man.

Eyes narrowed, Eddie walked towards Spider Man and spoke.

"Well if it isn't the hero himself, Spider Man," Eddie spoke.

Spider Man stopped what he was doing and turned to see Eddie. Grinning, Peter got an idea.

"And its Eddie Brock, everyone! Our Quarterback! By the way, when you throw, make sure, you throw it to the _right_ side. Not the wrong way," Peter grinned and the crowd laughed.

Eddie growled. "Insult me again and I swear to you…I'll break every bone in your body."

" _Ooo_ ," Peter mocked him. "I'm so scared. You think you can beat me? Ha. Please, you can't even defend yourself without your _cronies_. You're not all that, Brock. So pack up your bags, son. Because you're nothing."

The crowd 'ooed' as Peter grinned.

"Aww, what's the matter? You're not humiliated are you? Well, that's alright son. You can't win everything."

"I'm warning you," Eddie snarled, grabbing the scruff of his suit.

"Wo-ah! Easy there, tiger!" Peter chuckled. "But…go on. I _dare_ you to."

Eddie glared at him as a heavy tension filled the air and the people were all eager to see what was going to happen. However, Eddie let go and pushed Spider Man roughly.

"Whatever."

Peter suddenly laughed as he saw Eddie walking away. "Is that it? Is that the oh so famous Quarterback? I'm…disappointed actually."

Growling, Eddie suddenly turned around and made a swing with his hand in attempt to punch Spider Man in the face. Smirking, Spider Man leaned backwards to avoid the punch and then as Spider Man was leaning backwards, he grabbed Eddie's hand with his feet before flipping him in the air. Spider Man slightly packed a punch at Eddie's chest but it wasn't enough to actually cause damage.

After all, Brock was needed at the field.

The audience 'ooed' once more before laughing at Eddie's failure though this caused Brock's face go red from embarrassment.

Peter chuckled. "Better luck next time, Brock," he smirked as he extended his hand to help him up.

Eddie growled. "Get away from me," he snarled as he brushed the web crawler's hand away.

He got up and went back towards his team. Chuckling, Peter then spoke to the microphone and yelled out.

"When the teams are ready to shake the Captains' hands, the game will begin!" Peter exclaimed, having the crowd to once more burst into cheers.

"Hey, Brock. Where are you going? The game's about to begin!" one of the players yelled.

"I'll be right back!" Brock snapped.

He pushed people out of the way and headed towards the Boys' Changing Room which was empty since due to the fact that the people were all at the stadium. Growling, Eddie rammed his hand into a locker in anger. He couldn't believe that he let Spider Man humiliated him in front of everyone!

When he had the chance, Eddie will make sure that Spider Man will pay.

 _So much anger…so much hate…_

Eddie suddenly perked up his head at the sudden voice and he whirled, staring at the locker room.

 _Release it all…_

"Who's there?!" Eddie exclaimed.

 _Fool…I'm going to be your reflection. I'm going to be_ you _. I'm right here…with you…_

From behind Eddie, out of the small gap from the locker, something black and slimy began to ooze out as it started to stick on Eddie's back.

 _You hate Spider Man. You should use your anger to have your revenge on him…Release it…_

The black being began to envelope Eddie slowly and steady as it spoke words.

 _I need you…You're the source I need. Let us become as one…_

Eddie's breath unexpectedly started to be heavier and from the abrupt crawl, Eddie started to scream as he trashed around, placing his hands at the side of his head, emitting out another loud scream as the being began to take over.

"Get…away…from…ME!" Eddie snarled.

 _You…complete me…_

Eddie resumed screaming, trying to hold himself steady as the transformation took place.

 _I am Venom and I am your new Master now. Your dark emotions had allowed me to grow…to become strong and together, you'll have the chance to defeat Spider Man._

The dark voice spoke and then, the screams stopped. Eddie resumed breathing heavily as he leaned against his locker. However, it wasn't Eddie—not in the human form anyway. The creature completely took control of his appearance, having a black substance stuck to his body followed by an elongated jaw as Eddie opened his mouth. Fangs came out as well as claws, tentacles and a long prehensile tongue that slithered out of its mouth.

Blue eyes took over his usual ones and an ominous look took over.

 _It's time for Spider Man to have his humiliation…_

* * *

The game ended and almost the entire football team, people from the Uni and friends came to the after party.

Peter, no longer as Spider Man, stared at the crowded house. He ended up sticking around for the game and went to the Sara's house which ended up as a mansion.

"Why am I here again?" Peter yelled over the loud music as he stood beside Harry.

"Uh, you got invited!" Harry shouted back. "And I really think you overdid it with Brock, by the way."

"He deserved it."

Harry frowned. That was not the Peter he knew.

"Hey, let's have a look around!"

Harry followed Peter and the two tried to find their way around but the place was so incredibly packed that it was impossible to get anywhere. Peter didn't even know most of these people; he was honestly surprised that Sara invited him.

Why? He didn't know.

"Hey Peter!" a voice exclaimed.

Peter turned around to see Sara smiling. She looked pretty though. She wore a black sparkling dress that went to her knees followed by black pumps and her blonde hair was in a wavy pattern that cascaded down to her shoulders, framing her dark eyelashes.

Harry grinned, nudging Peter to the side as he smirked, approvingly.

"I'm glad you could make it. What did you think of the game?" she shouted.

"Uh pretty good."

"I thought it was pretty cool that Spider Man came," Sara flickered her eyes and saw Harry. She gave a small brief acknowledgement before returning to Peter.

"There's drinks and food so you could help yourself," she smiled. "Want me to show you around?"

"Um no thanks. Harry and I will manage."

"Okay."

Harry laughed. "She was _so_ hitting on you."

"What?"

Harry sighed. "Nothing."

Sometime later in the evening, Peter found himself at one of the counter tables, sitting on a stool with a drink in his hand.

 _I can't believe I'm drinking alcohol. Even when I said I wouldn't,_ Peter muttered in thought.

"Um...are you trying to forget or just having a really bad time?"

Sighing, Peter glanced to the right and gave a surprised look when he saw a familiar face.

"Gwen! What are you doing here?"

Gwen smiled. "Partying."

"In all honesty, you don't look like the kind to party."

"Nor do you."

Peter shrugged. "Maybe just a little."

"Hey, there's someone I want you to meet," Gwen announced and she moved to the side only to reveal a red head.

Peter looked at the person before gazing back at Gwen with a questioning look.

"This is Mary Jane. We met in the library," Gwen said. "Mary, this is Peter Parker."

"Hi," Mary Jane nodded.

Peter raised his drink in acknowledgement. "Howdy."

"If you want, do you want to join us?" Gwen offered.

Peter shook his head. "No thanks. I think I need to find Harry...wherever he is."

Gwen nodded. "Okay."

After the small chat and grabbing drinks, the two girls departed and left Peter. Once Peter finished his drink, he pushed the glass away and decided to find Harry.

He went to the opposite direction, away from the crowds. If anything, Harry was probably making out so he wouldn't be near a crowd. He was at the second level where there was an indoor pool and the room was illuminated by the blue light of the pool. There were glass windows surrounding the area with columns supporting the walls. It looked pretty in an eerie way.

There were a few people around the level but not near the pool.

So far, Peter hadn't been able to find Harry but this part of the level looked pretty. Nevertheless, Peter walked towards the other entrance that would lead to another room but as he was, something behind him, not a few meters away, it began to slither, occasionally sticking to a wall as it was hidden from plain sight.

And then, it suddenly struck Peter from the side which made crash to the wall that was beside the window. Peter groaned, feeling a bit dazed as he did not saw that coming.

Weird.

If there was danger, his Spider senses should've alerted him but it didn't.

"What the—"

"Peter Parker," the voice snarled as it staggered slightly into the light.

Peter widened his eyes as he saw a black creature with white eyes and a frightening jaw as it bared its fangs.

"What the—what are you supposed to be?" Peter gaped.

"Your greatest enemy!" it snarled before attacking Peter who moved out of the way.

"Why are you attacking me?!" he exclaimed.

Peter flipped in the air as the creature made an attempt to swipe at him. And then, the being ripped the column from its spot and it began to swing at Peter who dodged it.

 _I gotta get into my Spider Man suit,_ Peter thought as he leaped away. Peter narrowed his eyes and waited for another swing. Instead of dodging it, Peter took the blow as he crashed through a wall and went to another room where people immediately began to run away. Groaning, Peter used this chance to get away so he could change into Spider Man; it was stupid but worth it.

"Where are you, Parker?!"

Peter, who was on the other side of the room, leaned against a wall, hidden. It was a good thing he didn't put his suit away after the game since his costume was underneath his regular clothes. Quickly taking it off, Peter grabbed his mask and placed it on before making his appearance.

"Hey thick head! I don't know if you know this but you're weren't invited to the party!"

The creature turned around and saw Spider Man attached to the wall.

"Spider Man!" it snarled before it began to attack.

The being made a large hole in the wall as Spider Man scurried away, this time, trying not to get hit.

 _I wonder if he's vulnerable to light?_

The beast then picked up the couch and threw it at Spider Man who dodged as he slid down on his knees, having the couch passing by him. However, Spider Man quickly got up and grabbed the couch with his webs, swinging it around before releasing it towards the enemy.

Growling, the opponent smashed the sofa in half though Peter acted quickly by releasing his webs, attaching them to the enemy and Peter brought it down so that it crashed on the floor.

Spider Man then rushed towards the fallen brute though the enemy grabbed by his neck, slamming Spider Man down to the ground. Peter squirmed against the powerful grip and then the enemy threw Spider Man towards the window where he crashed, allowing the window smash into pieces.

Before Spider Man was sent flying away, Peter released his webs, having it attached to the ledge and swung himself back inside, kicking the creature in the face.

"It's enough!" Spider Man shouted, grabbing the opponent and slamming his face at the coffee table.

Snarling, the creature quickly got free from Peter's grip since he flipped him over. However, Peter struck him at the stomach, causing the enemy stumble backwards but just as the being regained his balance, Peter quickly got up.

"Man, you're stubborn. You just don't know when to quit," Peter said.

"You must die!"

Deciding to throw him off balance, the creature began to throw multiple throws until Peter got an idea as he nearly lost his balance when he reached the edge of the pool. If this enemy had the same power as him then this foe wouldn't be able to survive in the water for long.

Waiting for the right moment, Peter jumped in the air, flipping over the creature but seeing where this was going, the foe grabbed his ankle and pulled Peter closer with him. The creature opened its mouth, sinking its sharp fangs on Peter's shoulder. Peter cried out in pain and the next thing he knew, he was underwater, suddenly feeling weak.

 _What…what…did he do to me?_

Peter tried to fight him off but whatever went through his body prevented him to fight back. He felt all his energy draining away along with his vision. A strangled muffle escaped from him and Peter grabbed its hand that was around his neck, trying to loosen its grip but it was futile.

 _How are you able to survive in water?_ was the last thought Peter had before he reached the bottom of the pool, blackened out.

However, something grabbed Peter, pulling him out of the water.

 **Author's Note:** If this wasn't my best chapter, I apologize. I'm just not feeling well right now and I've been struggling with it as well. But at least we saw a glimpse of Venom! Huzzah! And I completely made up as to the Football teams since I don't exactly know what Empire State football is...What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	10. The Secret Riddle

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Yukiko3001 for favoring the story. Thanks to NatureSorcerer for favoring the story.

* * *

Chapter 10: The Secret Riddle

Peter groaned as he flickered his eyes open. He coughed, trying to grasp some air, breathing. His mind was still scattered so he was having difficult trying to figure out what happened.

He felt weak, drained and his mind was spinning around but he forced himself to push himself up.

"You woke up."

Peter lifted his head and gazed at Harry who had his head down.

"What…what happened?" Peter muttered. It was getting difficult to support himself.

"You tell me. I pulled you out of the pool when you got knocked out. People were screaming, trying to get away and I knew something was wrong. Who attacked you, Pete?"

Peter sighed, leaning his head against the wall. "I don't know…" he breathed heavily, shutting his eyes closed. Something was bothering his body.

"You're slacking off, Peter," Harry said as he got up. "Enemies are easily getting to you. Shape up your game, Parker."

As Harry went towards the door, he paused. "Oh by the way, when I was pulling you out of the water, I've noticed that there was a large angry blotch on your shoulder. You might want to get a look at it."

With that, Harry exited the room, leaving Peter alone to his thoughts.

 _Maybe_ _I_ _should get a look at i_ _t,_ Peter thought as he rubbed his pained shoulder.

Regardless, Peter decided to check up on Sara since she might've gotten affected the most.

Peter found her where she was hanging out with her group of friends.

"Sara!" Peter called out.

Sara stopped what she was doing and looked up, giving a smile.

"Pete!" she walked up to him, excusing herself from her friends.

Peter stood there awkwardly. "Um...how are you?"

"Great. Thanks for coming, by the way though I wanted to escort you out but I guess you left early since I couldn't find you."

Peter gave a sheepish grin. "Um...heh...yeah. About that...sorry...I heard about the attack and about Spider Man. Are you alright?"

Sara laughed. "I'm fine, Pete. Most of the attack took place on the second level. The police came and started to question people who got affected by them."

Peter nodded. "Alright...it's good that you're okay...um...I'll see you later, I guess."

Peter walked away though he absent-mindedly rubbed his shoulder again. He honestly felt weak and couldn't hold it that well.

Nevertheless, Peter had went to his classes, despite feeling terrible. However, when he reached his biology class, he could faintly see Prof. Slatter who had a disapproving look on his face.

Something has happened.

"Before we begin our session, I have a lecture to share," Slatter spoke a bit angrily.

Almost everyone went quiet though most of them felt uneasy.

"As you _should_ know, the reasons why we were bring _live_ beings to our class so you could all have a sense of how they work, their climate life and so on but they _are_ not to be messed with or get _stolen._ Obviously, someone decided to have a little fun and take the creature away and that being said, failure to comply these rules will result as punishment..."

Peter's mind spun around and whatever Slatter was saying, he could no longer hear him. His vision was blurry which made him slump against the chair, placing his hand on his forehead.

He had to go.

Peter got up which raised a few attentions including Gwen who gave a concerned look. Peter rushed out as quickly as he could, stumbling through the halls, ignoring the looks.

If he could make it to the dorm, he should be fine.

He hoped.

After much struggling, Peter managed to reach his dorm. He fumbled the doorknob for a couple of minutes until he was able to open it. As he did though, Peter tumbled down, barely gripping the knob.

He forced himself to get up so that he could change into his suit. If he could get to Tony, he would be fine.

After putting on the suit, Peter clumsily swung into the city and reached the familiar building. He was getting worse; if walking was bad then swinging himself to reach here was even harder.

 _I must…find him…_ he thought with staggered breaths. _Find…_

Peter reached their usual place but when he did, he found out that he wasn't there.

 _Where he is?_

Groaning, Peter slumped against the wall though unable to hold himself, Peter slid down, crumbled.

No.

He's not weak. He's strong.

And hell, this was _not_ going to be his last breath.

He's not going to die. Not like this.

Gathering all of the strength of what he has, Peter pulled himself together. He got up and heard voices a few seconds later.

"…of course, I'll get on it right away," one of the voices spoke as the door opened which revealed Tony and Happy.

"Good," Tony smiled.

"T—Tony…" Peter mumbled.

The smile on Tony's face instantly vanished when he immediately saw Peter who was stumbling.

"Peter! What in the blazes happened to you?" Tony exclaimed, quickly ushering towards him.

Blurry and dizzy, Peter mustered the only word he could do before he collapsed into Tony's arms.

"Help…"

With that, Peter fell into his arms.

* * *

Peter groaned as he flickered his eyes open. He shielded his eyes from the glaring light that was shining down on him. Apart from the light, he was met with a pounding headache that felt like his head was going to explode. Wincing, Peter started to push himself so he could get up but a hand stopped him, forcing him back down.

"What…happened?" Peter muttered.

"You tell me," Tony said. "When you came in here, I got worried. You just fell into my arms. You really didn't look good either," Tony added.

Peter closed his eyes as he was composing himself. "I don't know…the last thing I remember was not feeling that great. I began to be dizzy and weak as if all of my energy had been drained and then…" he frowned, squinting his eyes. "I think…I'm not sure…but I think I left one of my classes since I wasn't feeling that great."

Tony made a thoughtful look before he cleared his throat. "Well, while you were passed out, I had the liberty to examine as to what exactly happened to you. It turned out you were poisoned, Pete. You got infected by something. Do you know where or from whom?"

"I…" Peter trailed off as small brief flashbacks came into his mind. The party. Everything led back to the party. The attack…that black creature or whatever it was…Peter suddenly remembered when the strange being bit his horrible fangs into him…

"It was from the party," Peter realized. How could he have forgotten it? "The attack…I went to a party from the big football game last week. Everything went fine and then, all of a sudden, there was an attack that came at the house—well mansion really. I don't know what kind of creature that was. It was all black with tints of white and had really disgusting fangs—guess I know now that it's poisonous. It's stronger than me…and we fought…and well, that's all I remember other than after the fight, I passed out," Peter finished, rubbing his neck from behind.

Tony sighed with a disapproving look. "You need to be more careful, Peter. From the sound of it, it looks like you're slacking off. You need practice. Stay on guard."

"But I'm not slacking off," Peter said a bit irritably. "If you were facing this creature, you'd probably had less chance into defeating it."

Tony narrowed his eyes. "At least I wouldn't be reckless. That poison that's going into your body right now…you're lucky to be alive. You better keep me updated from now on."

Peter slightly glared at him. "How can I if you're always so busy? What are you even doing anyway? What's keeping you busy that I can't even reach you at most of the time?"

"You don't need to know. At least not yet. Just…just try not to get killed by the end of your year, alright?"

Peter stared at him for a moment before deciding to let it go. The more Peter continues, the less answers he would get.

"Fine. Whatever," Peter muttered.

"Nevertheless, I'll inform you once this poison had been analyzed."

After getting himself back, Peter swung out of the building with thoughts in his mind. Maybe he should investigate what Tony has been up to. If Tony wouldn't tell him then Peter's going have to explore what Tony's had been hiding.

Once Peter entered his dorm through the window, he automatically started to take off the suit and pulling his usual clothes which consisted of a plain white t-shirt and jeans.

 _I'm not that irresponsible,_ Peter muttered in thought. _I can take of myself…_

"If you're done muttering to yourself, I do believe this stuff is yours."

Peter looked up and saw Gwen holding up his things. Peter blinked, staring at his backpack as though it was a stranger to him.

"Um thanks," Peter said, taking it. "I guess I forgot about it."

"Tell me about it. I wanted to give it to Harry or Michelle but I couldn't find them so I kept it with me until I was able to give it to you. You left the class in a hurry. You honestly didn't look too good."

"Um, I guess I have some kind of sickness. I'll be fine," Peter faintly flashed her a smile.

"Well, alright," Gwen said with a small curious look. "But take it easy. I know this semester is supposed to hard but don't overwork yourself, okay?"

Peter nodded. "Yeah…"

Peter departed his way, giving Gwen a one last faint smile. It wasn't soon where Peter had found Michelle and the two were walking down the halls; both of them have a free period so they decided to meet.

"It's so easy to get to you," Michelle said after Peter had told her what happened so far.

 _Where have I heard that before_? Peter thought angrily.

"I can take care of myself," Peter replied annoyed since he was having this conversation again.

Michelle slightly narrowed her eyes. "Sorry…I'm just worried. So far, there are two creatures out there who has the same abilities like you. You kind of have to go out of the box if you want to defeat them."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Michelle gave a small sly smile. "Well, if you insist…I wonder what you'll think if I start to develop the same powers as you."

Peter stared at her with wide eyes from the side, giving her an incredulous look. "No. Absolutely no way. No friend of mine is going on a crazed injection power. I forbid."

Michelle laughed. "Somehow that would get your attention."

Peter gave a small chuckle, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Anyway, how are things? I'm assuming its crazy busy since we haven't seen each other since."

Michelle gave a small chuckle. "Guess you could say that. The teachers are stricter this year, piling up the homework. It's going to get crazier."

"Yeah, no kidding… I'm already stressed out."

Since his hands were in his pocket, Peter was able to feel his phone vibrating. Frowning, Peter took the phone out and saw the text message.

"Tony?" Michelle guessed which earned a nod.

"Yeah. Gotta go. I'll see you later," Peter replied as he started to take off.

Michelle nodded. "Yeah…bye…"

* * *

"This being is not from this Earth," Tony stated as Peter stared at the screen that contained images.

"No, really? I thought the large freakishly fangs and the unearthly outfit is a dead giveaway," Peter replied sarcastically.

Tony narrowed his eyes, giving a disapproved look. Seeing this, Peter sighed.

"Sorry."

Without a word, Tony pulled out more images which revealed the bizarre creature, making Peter wince. After the battle, he really didn't want to see it again.

"This creature are a goo-like parasites that requires a host to bond in order to live. In order to come alive though, it needs to feed off negative emotions such as anger, greed, hate etc. With that, the parasite and the host will become as one, being stronger. This creature also has the same abilities as you—as you had already saw—as well as having poisonous fangs."

"But if that's the case, then how come I wasn't able to sense the danger of this pest? It literally felt like my spider senses had been clouded, unaware of them," Peter mumbled.

"If that's the case, then that makes them even more dangerous," Tony replied. "Remember that creature from a few days ago?"

Peter slightly narrowed his eyes. "The red one? Who did all of the killings?"

Tony nodded. "Yes. That creature is also the same kind _this_ one is. They're both Symbiotes."

Peter suddenly felt irritated. "I don't know how to stop them, though! Every time I try to, something bad always happen."

"You figured one of the weaknesses, didn't you?" Tony pointed it out. "It was sound, Peter."

Peter gave a small dark chuckle. "That was actually from mistake but…" Peter suddenly stopped talking as a small flashback came into his mind.

" _We must proceed with caution if we were to survive in these dark times," Slatter said as he brought the now lit-match closer to the creature._

"Light…or heat, actually," Peter said with realization. That class wasn't for nothing. Why didn't he paid more attention to Biology?

Tony raised an eyebrow, giving a look as Peter was muttering incoherently.

"Sorry?" Tony asked.

"Heat," Peter repeated; this time, more loudly. "A few days ago, Professor Slatter—my Biology instructor—brought in this same creature—the Symbiote. He lit up a match and that made the creature crawl away. It can't stand heat."

Despite the new information Tony was given, Tony frowned his eyebrow. "Where did your Professor even got such a creature?"

Peter paused, suddenly realizing that he had no idea. "I actually don't know. Even the Professor doesn't know. He only said that it went into his classroom and he kept it so he could continue to do some research on it…but then a few days later, the Professor became unhappy because that being was gone."

"So now, it's roaming free," Tony muttered though Peter caught his mutter.

"Obviously," Peter spoke.

Tony sighed. "This puts students—and anyone else—in greater danger. This is dangerous. Nevertheless, you must stop it. I know I've said this countless of times but be careful, Pete. This creature is a threat to cross-species and human kind. You cannot let it overcome you. Be careful of your emotions or otherwise they'll feed you from it too…"

Tony's words rang into Peter's mind as Peter stared into the parasite that was on the screen.

 **Author's Note:** Yay! We know more about it though I'm sure you all already knew who it was XD things are getting darker which makes me excited but of course, there'll be some goofy moments as well. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	11. Silver and Opals

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Dulcecitath for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 11: Silver and Opals

It was incredible.

The amount of homework they were given was high. It felt as though it was almost nearly impossible to keep up in the classes' lectures. Yet again, midterms were slowly coming up but was it necessary for the professors to have a never-ending pile of homework? The students have lives too…

The air was filled with different kinds of chemicals in the chemistry class. The colored liquids were shown through the clear beakers as the students were trying to create the given chemicals.

"Man...how's this supposed to prepare you for the midterms?" Luke muttered as he was almost being careless with pouring a liquid into the beaker.

Seeing this, Peter snatched the small tube away from him.

"Give me that! Don't just randomly pour it into the beaker if you don't know how much you need to have," Peter said, frustrated.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Sheesh. What got you in the knot?"

"Gee, I wonder..." Peter muttered.

"Just because the midterms are coming up, it doesn't mean you should snap at your fellow partner."

Luke's eyes sparkled from agreement. "Exactly! Thank you, Gwen."

The blonde rolled her eyes. " _But_ that shouldn't mean you should be so careless, _Luke!_ "

"Aww, come on," Luke complained.

Peter paused what he was doing. "Why are you complaining? You're practically not doing anything."

"Tell me about it," Gwen said irritably as she erased the note in her notepad while scrunching up her eyes to see the liquid transforming into a new color.

Luke chuckled. "I have you two," he said cheerfully.

Peter and Gwen grunted, unimpressed.

"Well, I hope you realize that you're gonna have to write your _own_ hypothesis as to what had happened. It will be _terrible_ if we decided to dispose of the chemical now," Gwen grinned slyly.

Luke opened his mouth and grumbled as he grumpily took out his notepad.

As the class came to an end, the Chemistry instructor assigned homework before they were dismissed.

With heavy books in his hands (and some in his bag), Peter managed to make it to the library where he met with Michelle, Gwen and Harry.

"Made it," Peter announced as he accidentally slammed the boons on the table which made a loud noise.

The three jumped with startle as the librarian gave him a nasty look which he ignored.

"Glad you could join us," Harry muttered as he flipped through the pages with a bored look on his face. The side of his head was rested on his hand and he tried not to fall asleep.

"Wake up," Gwen snapped, pulling Harry's arm so that he lost balance and as a result, Harry bumped his face on the book.

"Ow," Harry hissed, having Peter snigger.

"You guys are so immature," Michelle finally spoke.

She hadn't spoken since she had gotten here. She was too busy color-coding and taking notes from her books and not once had she lift her head until now.

"I think the library is beginning to be our hang out," Peter said.

"It's what you do when you have your midterms coming up. You know...the thing that's called 'group studies'," Michelle responded.

Peter glanced around as though he was searching for someone. He vaguely remembered back at the party where Gwen had introduced him to a new friend of hers. Noticing this, Gwen raised an eyebrow at Peter's casual look but she knew better.

"Who are you looking for, Pete?" Gwen asked.

Blinking, Peter pulled himself away and shook his head.

"No one. Something caught my eye but I guess I missed it."

"Uh huh," Gwen replied slyly as she twirled her pen around in her fingers. "You weren't looking for my friend, were you? You know...the redhead...Mary Jane..."

Peter slightly tensed at the name which made Gwen chuckle.

"No," Peter insisted.

Michelle frowned as she wondered who Mary Jane was until it sparked into her mind. "Mary Jane? As in Watson? She's in my class. She's pretty nice from what I could tell—I don't really talk to her though...why?"

"Oh you know...I think Peter has a slight crush on her," Gwen grinned widely.

"No, I don't. Honestly," Peter gave her an annoyed look. Michelle slightly frowned before going back to work.

"Ooo Peter likes a girl. That's...something actually," Harry grinned.

"Shut up, you two," Peter muttered angrily as he pulled his textbook upwards so that it covered him though that only made the two snigger.

Noticing Michelle went back to work, Gwen slightly nudged het.

"How come you're not teasing him?"

Michelle shrugged. "I simply have no interest in this matter."

Gwen and Harry gaped at her before raising a suspicious look.

The group eventually exited the library when it was near closing time. When they had to leave, Peter went to the opposite way since he had that club he had joined to go to.

He was slightly getting used to the weird boys who held the club.

Just as before, the room was filled with all kinds of objects that were flying around which made it hard to miss even if Peter ducked down.

Nevertheless, Peter wasn't in the mood for joining the group since he mainly isolated himself from them. They meant well but Peter needed some time to think. So far, he had to psychos going after him despite the fact they both had the same weaknesses but both of them are stronger. Peter realized that he couldn't take both of them by himself and that's the cold hard truth.

He nearly died by fighting one of them.

A sudden dark thought came to his mind which he didn't like it. If he had to, then he may have to go to one of them for help. And that thought scared him.

And as if that wasn't bad enough to think about, he still had that deal he had made with Mysterio. In all honesty, Peter doubted that Mysterio would keep his. He was a villain and he always had been. Peter couldn't change that no matter what he does.

Peter narrowed his eyes as his stare deepened, having another thought came to mind. It could work…

Peter got up, grabbing his things though as he walked out, it raised questioning looks from the rest of the group.

"Hey, where you're going? It's not over yet," Michael exclaimed.

He ignored him as he exited out of the room. A few minutes later, Peter was zipping through the city, landing on a closest rooftop. He then released his webs in intricate patterns until it was done.

And now he waited.

* * *

Mysterio frowned as he stared at his device with an object in his hand. The sound of the TV drowned out since Mysterio wasn't paying attention to it.

" _We'll be in touch…"_

Mysterio scoffed. Yeah sure…he only said that to scare him off which proved fruitless. If he wanted to, he could've destroyed Spider Man and he had been so close as to doing that but Mysterio dropped his guard and lost.

"… _It is unknown as to who Spider Man is reaching out for but the signal, shaped in a Spider, had clearly been imprinted on the rooftop…"_

Mysterio stopped what he was doing and looked up at the TV to see a small figure on the rooftop that has been outmatched by the large Spider pattern. He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the screen.

" _We'll be in touch…"_

The same words repeated into his mind. Spider Man was waiting for him.

* * *

Peter paced around as he was impatiently waiting for the enemy to come.

All of a sudden, in a gust of wind, a figure appeared from it though Peter already knew who it was. He came after all.

Once the gust of wind disappeared, it revealed Mysterio with an emotionless face. The two stared at each other for a few minutes, allowing the disturbing silence to settle in though Peter broke it after a while.

"You came."

"You called."

Peter narrowed his eyes, glaring at the man who killed his friend. The image still haunted his mind no matter how many times Peter tried to forget about it. It would always be in his mind.

"What is it that you want?" Mysterio sounded pissed.

"That deal we made…" Peter answered.

Mysterio was about to speak until he looked up. He then walked towards Spider Man and grabbed his wrist which made Peter move his hand.

"Stop struggling. We're not going to talk here out in the open," Mysterio hissed.

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Peter said, glaring.

Mysterio laughed. "You really don't have much of a choice."

And then, in a flash, the two disappeared in the same manner as how Mysterio had appeared. They then reappeared in a different place, away from the listening ears and away from the curious eyes. Peter shuddered, immediately snatching his wrist away and stared at his new surroundings.

"Wow…a deserted alleyway…so secretive," Peter sneered.

"Fine then. I guess we could go back and have everyone see you, labelling you as a bad guy once more. I have no problem with that," Mysterio smirked. "It worked so well last time…"

"Alright. Alright," Peter responded, annoyed.

"I still think this idea of yours is preposterous. It's reckless and foolhardy," Mysterio spoke. "But in all honesty, if you think about it, you're doing us a favor. Going back in time, you're kinda killing yourself," he replied cheerfully in the most disturbing way that made Peter tense.

"The deal," Peter repeated, clenching his hands.

Mysterio glared at him. "I'm working on it. But it's going to take some time. So until then, I suggest you clean up your mess. I mean, with things going on—the murder and the new creature that just recently showed up—your hands are full."

Peter knew he couldn't threaten him and actually mean it. His threats and warnings would be empty.

"Either way, I still want to get this done," Spider Man spoke sharply. He then started to walk away though Mysterio called out.

"You might want to consider your choices carefully, Spider Man or otherwise, you'll see yourself become a villain!"

And then, Spider Man exited out of the alleyway, leaving Mysterio to his thoughts.

* * *

Peter returned in the night to see his dorm. As he was crawling up the wall, he could see a semi-faint light that is slightly illuminating the dark room.

Harry is working himself wee into the hours of studying.

Peter got in though, naturally, he went unnoticed.

"Night-Patrolling?"

Peter turned to the side and saw Harry who had an irritated look, glaring at the textbook.

"Um...yea..." Peter said casually.

Harry snorted. "Then what's with the Spider signal? Who'd you meet up with?"

Peter sighed. "No one, Harry. Really, it's fine."

Harry shrugged. "Sure..."

Peter walked towards his desk and saw his notebook underneath the stack of his other things. He removed the pile and picked up the book. He flipped through the pages, going to the one where it would contained his drawings of the new suit; they were rough sketches though Peter still had a block.

Sighing, Peter closed the book and placed the other pile on top of it.

"I'm going to bed," Peter announced.

"Alright."

Plopping himself on the bed, Peter glanced at Harry before rolling to the other side; his face facing the wall.

"Night," Peter muttered.

 **Author's Note: **Oohhh, Peter you're thinking dark thoughts, my friend. Don't let it get to you. But the plan is still in action. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	12. Spider Man Superior

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Vianka601 for favoring the story. Thanks to Yukiko3001 for favoring the story.

* * *

Chapter 12: Spider Man Superior

Halfway through October came and things have been quiet regarding with criminal activities. Peter didn't know if he should be worried or not but decided that he should be worry since this felt like the 'calm before the storm' moment. Nonetheless, Peter took this time to finish designing his suit which was taking forever.

Peter woke early in the morning which turned out to be cloudy though to pass the time, Peter skimmed through the Daily Bugle newspaper in hopes that there any signs of the new enemies making appearances until breakfast.

No such luck.

Sighing, Peter placed the newspaper to the side, being in thought as conversations from last night went into his mind.

It wasn't his fault that he's slacking off. He's doing as much as he can whenever new enemies pop up but sometimes they can be unpredictable.

It's not as if he could read minds and suddenly know when the enemies are going to show up.

Peter narrowed his eyes.

 _No, you can't. But you can definitely use a sweet technique with your webs that would allow to_ feel _when an enemy is coming through vibrations_ , the voice of reason told him.

Thinking, Peter got up with a slight grin on his face. If there was a random crook on the loose, he could use that technique to track him when he's hiding.

He just has to wait for the right time.

Nevertheless, Peter went to his classes. It seemed as though Prof. Slatter had somewhat composed himself after that small incident. But because of that mishap, Slatter disregarded the rule for bringing in anymore creatures in the classroom, much to a few students' disappointment.

Peter couldn't really care less since that otherworldly being still crept him out and he prefer to have this classroom animal-free.

Well, _almost_ animal-free.

That being said, Slatter spend the rest of the class, lecturing on some animal's orgasms which made Peter not even bothering to pay attention; he was sure that he wasn't the only one.

By the time, lunch time came around, the cafeteria was already being buzzed with chattering people.

"Hey, didja hear that there's a bank robbery in St. Gabriel's Bank?" Harry asked once Peter joined him.

Peter frowned. "I've just looked at the paper and nothing had mentioned it."

"It obviously just got updated then. Duh."

Ignoring him, Peter glanced at the paper from the side.

"So, who's the bad guy?"

"Unknown yet but the police are sure that they'll catch him or her."

Peter thought back to when he thought about the technique. He could use this chance to try it out. Glancing to the clock, Peter asked.

"When did the robbery started?"

"About twenty minutes ago which means the person could still be there," Harry stated then paused. "Why?" he asked, already getting a suspicious feeling.

Peter grinned. "Brb."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You better make it on time or I'm not gonna get you."

"Thanks for the moral support."

* * *

When Spider Man got there, he could already see the police activities going around.

Spider Man let go of the ropes and attached himself on the wall. There had to be a grate around here somewhere.

Crawling around Peter founded a vent on another part of the second rooftop. He landed on the ground, releasing webs in order to open the vent.

The gate was yanked open, allowing Peter to go inside where he followed the path until he reached the main foyer.

He stuck to the ceiling, twisting himself so he could see at a better angle. Most of the police were in hiding spots, armed as they waited to hand-cuff the robber.

Peter glanced around, searching for Stacy. Looking around, Peter crawled away from his spot, sticking to the shadows as much as he could. He reached Stacy, gently lowering himself as he hid.

"What's the situation?" Spider Man whispered.

"Nice of you to join. The robber is still stalling as she hadn't made any moves yet. Don't know what she's waiting for," Stacy replied in a low voice.

"Well that chick better make a move soon cuz I'm tired of waiting," Jackson growled.

"Wait, chick?" Spider Man asked, his eyes slightly widened.

"Yeap. It's a woman but it's weird though. The only reason why she hadn't made a move is because she has a gadget or a device-from what we could tell-since she kept on disappearing. Hell, humans can't disappear that quickly."

 _Unless she's not human. Unless she's like me,_ Peter thought.

"Um, ok. I'll go check it out. I've got this new technique I want to try it out," Spider Man said before he sunk back into the shadows.

"Man...this chick got a fancy gadget. Spider Man's got a technique. Where's my gadget?" Jackson muttered.

Spider Man continued to crawl across the room. Sometimes he would have to use his webs to get to a certain point.

When he had an idea of where the thief could be, Spider Man released several webs at once, creating a large one and each of them got attached to either walls or rails.

 _Let's see...how does this work?_ Peter muttered in thought.

Peter stared at one end before he moved to the next string.

No vibration there.

If the enemy was nearby, his web would give off a vibration. Peter continued to work around the web until he came across the fifth one.

He waited for a while just so he was absolutely sure that the string was the one. When it was clear, Peter withdrew the webs and pursued towards the hall where the enemy was located.

Peter chuckled.

 _Think you could hide from me, huh? Think again._

Grinning, Peter tracked down until he reached the final spot. He admits; it was a bit tricky due to the fact that the thief felt like she was moving.

Nevertheless, Peter got her as he entered another large room. Since the room felt empty, Peter didn't bother getting out from the shadows just in case and plus, it was an element of surprise.

 _I would probably be in the vault if anything..._

Going with that, Peter crawled towards the path where he saw a large circular silver door opened up ahead.

 _Bingo_

As he went down a wall, he stopped when his spider sensed buzzed on. Frowning, Spider Man looked down and noticed that there was a small device planted on. He glanced to the right and saw the same gadget.

 _Huh. Devices used to stun people. Clever._

Carefully avoiding them, Spider Man went around the side before making his way up to the ceiling.

"Hurry up, you fools!" a voice snarled.

Spider Man narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the scene. There was one tied up hostage who held his head down. He wore a black vest and pants from what Spider Man could tell and based on his observation, it seemed as though he was in charge of the access for the vault otherwise this thief could've randomly picked a person.

Just as she was about to turn, a _thwing_ sound came and grabbed her from the back.

"Is this a party or what? If that's the case, how come I wasn't invited?"

The person turned around only to give a smirk.

"Well if it isn't the tights," she drawled.

Spider Man frowned. "It's _Spider Man_. Who are you?"

The lady laughed. "Well, since I'm going have to kill you in the end, I may as well introduce myself. Name's Black Cat, darling and _you're_ going to regret for ever passing me."

Spider Man rolled his eyes. "Please, spare me the story of humiliation."

The Black Cat chuckled as her eyes twinkled from mischief. "As you wish."

And then, the Black Cat grabbed the string, twirling herself around so that she pulled Spider Man towards her. However, knowing where this was going, Spider Man quickly performed a twirl in the air, flipping above her and he landed on the wall.

"You're going have to do better than that," Spider Man chuckled.

Black Cat shrugged. "Eh, it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt," she smiled slyly.

Spider Man raised one of his eyebrows. "What…?"

"So long, Spider."

And then, the Black Cat exited and as she began to disappear, Spider Man was just able to see her thumb pressing on a device. Eyes wide, Spider Man quickly grabbed onto the hostage, using his web rush mode to get out of the vault just as the devices went off. However, as Spider Man exited the entrance, he got caught in the shockwave and because of it, the shockwaves made Spider Man (who wrapped the hostage protectively) fly out.

Spider Man grunted as he slammed his back against the ground, temporarily being dazed.

Damn.

He underestimated her.

"You alright?" Spider Man muttered once he got some air in his lungs.

"Y—yeah," the person replied shakily. "Thank you."

"Not a problem."

"She's crazy, I tell you," the person muttered as they got up. "She just came in here and started demanding the access codes for the vault. I had no choice."

"It's okay. I'm going to stop her. You go back to the police; they'll handle it from there."

"Okay, thank you."

With that, the man ran away.

 _Alright, Black Cat. You won't run away from me anymore._

Once Spider Man entered another large room, he slowed down as he got off from his webs. He stopped walking and slightly turned around, staring at the empty space ahead.

"I know you're here, Black Cat. Show yourself," Spider Man shouted.

A laugh was heard. "You must be very brave if you continue to pursue me. I'm touched."

Spider Man scoffed. "I've defeated much bigger and horrible foes than you. You're nothing more than just a petty thief that'll be stopped. If you're not afraid then come out and face me."

"I may be just a petty thief, Spider but I'm _more_ than what you _led_ to believe in."

Sensing his spider senses buzzing, Spider Man quickly turned around and grabbed Black Cat who emerged from the shadows. He knocked her down by sweeping her off the feet, landing on top of her as he grabbed her hands.

"Look; I'm not fond of hurting ladies and I don't think you want to hurt me so will you just be nice and walk yourself towards the police?"

Black Cat laughed as she slightly squirmed. "You have to do better than that but I appreciate you asking me," she smirked.

"Yeah me—"Spider Man suddenly trailed off, remembering that he has to go back to the class and he cursed. "Damn it. I'm going to be late."

Black Cat laughed. "Late for what? You don't have to go. You can just stay here with me, team up and we'll be unstoppable," she whispered and then, her hands grabbed Spider Man around his neck (despite his grip), pulling him closer.

Spider Man widened his eyes as he felt his mask being slightly taken off and her lips were placed on his. For a brief moment, Peter forgot what he was doing until dazzling lights appeared but before Black Cat could even escape, Spider Man caught her.

"Nu uh. I don't think so."

Growling, Black Cat scowled as she watched Spider Man hand cuffing her with his webs and helped her up.

"Come on. Walk," he commanded.

"I'm walking," she said irritated.

The two went in silence until Black Cat spoke. "Why do you continue to fight for those poor helpless citizens? I mean, they merely get in your way and they're not even thankful."

Spider Man narrowed his eyes though he didn't left his gaze. "I do it because I like to. It's just what I am and what I'm made to do. Otherwise…" he glanced down at his web shooters. "I've got these powers for nothing."

Black Cat chuckled softly. "Typical. But you got so much more to offer. You shouldn't be the same boring superhero. There are already so many heroes doing the same thing."

" _You can just stay here with me, team up and we'll be unstoppable."_

The previous conversation rang into Peter's mind.

"No."

Black Cat sighed. "Suit yourself."

They got to the police where some of them were rounding up thugs who took guarded the place.

"Here you go, officers. I promise you she won't be any trouble," Spider Man said though it made Black Cat laughed.

"You sure about that?" she called.

"Yeah, he's sure. Come on lady," Officer Jackson replied gruffly.

 _Now I really gotta get to class. Ha, by the time, I get there, it'll be probably over._

Scowling, Spider Man then left as he headed back towards the building.

He quickly changed into his regular clothes once he got back to his dorm, grabbing his back pack where Peter assumed Harry dropped it off.

At least, he wouldn't have to buy another bag.

Peter ran through the halls, exiting out of the Resident building and into his School of Chemistry.

As he skidded in the class, he already saw the students getting ready to leave.

 _How did I know?_ Peter thought dryly.

"Ah, Peter," the Instructor acknowledged him. "I'm glad you could make it but I'm afraid class is already over."

Peter winced. "I know. I'm really sorry about that. I've got distracted."

"Not to worry but here's the required homework for you to finish," the Professor said, giving him a small smile as he pointed at the white board.

"Um, great," Peter flashed him a smile.

He took out his phone and snapped a quick picture of the given task.

Once Peter exited, he made a small grumble.

 _Fantastic. Who has time for more homework?_

Nevertheless, his mind went back to the battle he had with Black Cat. Instinctively, Peter pressed his lips and made a small smile as he exited the classroom.

Evening rolled around and Peter found himself staring at the window, being lost in thought.

"Well, someone is lost in thought," Harry's voice drawled.

"Eh..." Peter muttered.

"Yet again who would be when that certain someone saved the bank."

"That's nice."

Harry frowned as he was expecting some kind of remark.

"What's up with you? You're usually not like this."

"It's really nothing," Peter insisted.

"Ungh. Fine, whatever," Harry muttered and paused. "I'm going to sleep."

Harry threw his stuff to the side though before he took a nearby object and threw it at Peter.

"What was that for?!" Peter glared, rubbing his head as Harry chuckled.

As Harry slept, Peter worked into the hours of designing his new suit. After having inspiration, Peter was finally able to make his new suit which made him chuckle.

 _I guess I have Black Cat to thank for,_ Peter grinned.

Nevertheless, Peter worked deep into the night though he frowned when he had to gather some materials which he didn't had.

Sighing, Peter placed the sketch aside and quietly got off the desk. He paused when he saw Harry shuffling around and continued to tip-toe across the room in order to reach the door.

Peter cringed when the door creaked.

"Where are you going?" Harry muttered incoherently.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," Peter shushed him.

"Uh huh," Harry mumbled until the sound of his snores went through the room.

Rolling his eyes, Peter squeezed himself through the small opening.

He knew he shouldn't be doing this but he bet that there are a few people who are doing the same thing as he did. If he recalled, there _should_ be a Fashion department around the campus somewhere. Or whatever it was called for Fashion though the only problem was that he had no idea where the building was located.

Locating the closest map, Peter quickly found out where the area was and began going down the route that it was given to him. The whole campus was quiet, giving a small eerie silence to it but as Peter exited out of the Residence, he suddenly realized that it would be very likely for the whole building to be locked.

That being said, he would literally have to _break_ into it.

 _Great…_

Peter eventually reached the building, crawling up of the building while staying in the shadows. Once he got to a reasonable level, Peter moved towards the window that is the closest one.

It was locked, of course which would mean that he would have to force it open. Peter grunted when he grabbed hold of the bottom and began to pull it up.

Luckily, he had enhanced strength so opening a locked window would be a breeze.

Peter crawled in while closing the window to avoid any suspicious activity but of course, there would be cameras around the rooms.

 _Ungh...cameras. How many more are there?_ Peter muttered as he disabled the camera in the room he was in.

After a few twists and turns, Peter got to the Material room where all the fabrics and other things are placed.

 _Just gotta grab what I need and get out of here..._

That being said, Peter grabbed the things he needed, putting the back in its proper place, enabling the cameras and got out.

Peter quietly snuck into his dorm. Luckily, Harry was still asleep.

Nevertheless, Peter continued to work until he finally dozed off; the sleep taking him over.

"Hey...Peter..."

"Un..."

"Damn it, Parker. Wake up. It's 8 in the morning," the annoyed voice rang out the next morning.

"I'm tired and I wanna sleep."

Harry sighed. "By the way, where were you last night? I remember calling your name and then you went out," Harry's eyes trailed down as he saw fabrics of different kinds all cut up.

"Where'd you get these?" Harry muttered, touching the silky silver material.

"Somewhere..."

Harry stared at them suspiciously until he shrugged them off, seeing as Peter was no longer in a talking mood.

"Well get dressed. You're going to be late," Harry commanded. "I'm not waiting for you."

As Harry's footsteps began to fade away, Peter sluggishly dragged himself up as he rubbed his eyes, trying to get the sleep off his face.

He yawned, stretching himself before his eyes landed on the new made suit.

It was done and he couldn't be happier.

 **Author's Note: **Ah ha! And I'm done this chapter too! Three guesses on what the suit is! What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	13. The Encounter

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to SymbioticSpidey for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 13: The Encounter

Norman stared at the headline of the newspaper.

 _SPIDERMAN SAVED ST. GABRIEL'S BANK_

Norman tightened his jaw before throwing the paper away. Damn with him. Everyone credits Spider Man on how brave and bolding he is. Some even say that he's a bit of a comedian.

Bah.

He made a thinking look before a grin came.

Maybe it was time for the Spider Man to meet the Green Goblin.

Chuckling, Norman got off his chair and started to exit out of the office though someone else went at his doorway, doing a small knock.

Norman looked to see his assistant, sighing before acknowledging him. "Yes?"

"Someone wishes to see you," the assistant spoke.

"Who?" Norman frowned.

The sound of the machines came as the figure appeared while the assistant side stepped away. Norman widened his eyes as he saw who the visitor was but just by staring at him, anger started to course in him.

"Norman, my old friend," the voice announced and flashed him a smile.

"Otto Octavius," Norman snarled slightly. He then eyed his assistant, nodding. "You are dismissed."

With that, he left as he shut the door which left Otto and Norman alone to his thoughts.

"What do you want?" Norman muttered.

Otto chuckled. "Not even a 'hello'? Or 'how are things?' My, you're certainly impatient," he drawled. "But of course I already know what you're doing with your life."

Norman narrowed his eyes. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't call the securities."

A horrible grin went on his face and he gave out a laugh. "Securities? Aha! You're more pathetic than I thought!"

Norman made a cruel smile. "I'm not talking about _human_ -wise, Octavius. Careful where you're treading..."

Growling a bit, Otto walked up to him until they were close.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Nah, I thought I would make my point be clear. I am _not_ the one who would take things lightly. Now," he narrowed his eyes. "What is your actual purpose of being here?"

Otto laughed. "This."

He threw the newspaper at his chest which made Norman grab them. Staring daggers at him, he turned the papers around and looked down only to suddenly be enraged with his eyes.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Norman replied through his gritted teeth, clenching the newspaper tightly.

"Really?" Otto said, amused. "Green sightings? Flying UFO? Why, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're the Green sightings itself!"

"You have no _proof_."

"I don't need any proof, my friend. In all honesty, you already claimed that it's you."

Seeing the confused look, Otto mocked him.

" _I don't know what you're talking about._ Like if you want to be secretive, then how about learn some tips from Spider Man himself? After all, no one knows who he is except for the ones who's closest to him. He kept his secret hidden very well."

"Even he will slip up at some point, Otto. You can't always hide your identity no matter how could you are."

"I whole-heartedly agree. See and that is why I'm asking you to join me and my fellow teammates. We're organizing a group that would defeat Spider Man once and for all. We go by Sinister Six, a name that was made from Mysterio."

Norman chuckled darkly. "You must be pretty desperate if you need to form a group to kill Spider Man."

Otto narrowed his eyes. "While he may be just a reckless kid, you shouldn't underestimate him. He's strong, persistent and determined. However, up to now, he's broken. Hurt. Devastated. It makes him vulnerable. So, I want you, Norman Osborn, to join my comrades. With your genius mind and scientific skills, we could rule the world with an iron fist. Even Iron Man won't be able to stop us."

Norman stared at his hand though a look of fury came onto his look.

"No!" he yelled, smacking his hand away. "Get out of here! I don't want to _ever_ see your face again! GET OUT!"

Otto made a furious look, baring his teeth. He walked in anger towards the door but as he opened it, he turned to face Norman.

"You'll regret this day by not joining us!" Otto exclaimed, furious. "Mark my words!"

With that, Otto sunk into the shadows as he disappeared.

* * *

Harry stared at the new suit which Peter was wearing.

"Well? Say something," Peter grunted.

"Um..." Harry scratched his head, shifting in his spot. "I don't know...? I guess it looks good...?"

Peter sighed, dropping his arms. "Man, all I'm asking for an opinion of the suit."

Harry grinned. "Well to be honest, you can see _a lot_ ," he chuckled.

Peter reddened, muttering incoherently.

"I can see why Black Cat gave you an inspiration," Harry laughed.

"Shut up," Peter muttered as he took off his mask.

He then went to take it off only to find himself stuck. Harry turned around, raising an eyebrow.

"Stuck?"

"Yes..." Peter muffled through the suit.

Smirking, Harry helped him out.

Once he got out of the costume, Peter plopped down on his bed, staring at the ceiling. His mind went to the time where they broke into the OsCorp Company to discover what Harry's father was working.

Thinking, Peter pushed himself up and eyed Harry who was working on his homework—something what Peter should do.

"Hey um...remember that time when we broke into your dad's company?" Peter began.

Even though Harry stopped what he was doing but he didn't looked up.

"Yes..."

"Well...did he say anything at all? Or assumed something was not quite right?"

Harry slammed the book which made Peter jump a little.

"You're asking if my dad's a serial killer," Harry connected the dots.

Peter slightly widened his eyes. "What? No. I'm only asking for facts."

"You're jumping to conclusions _with_ facts. My dad wouldn't hurt anyone. He's not a criminal. He's not a mad scientist. Leave it, Pete. I was only curious as to _what_ my dad was working on," Harry said.

"You know I was only asking," Peter muttered. "But you have to still be curious about it though...He's never around home. You never had a bond—"

"I said _drop it,_ Peter!" Harry slightly yelled. "Just because you never really had a chance to have a proper family, it doesn't mean you have the right to lash out on mine!"

"Proper? I'm sorry. _What_?" Peter questioned, outraged. "My parents got killed when I was a kid, Harry! And now Aunt May and Uncle Ben are gone. You at least _got_ someone who's biologically related to you! Tony's not any of that even though he's trying to fill in the shoes but it's not the same! You have someone. I don't!"

"Funnily enough, I would sacrifice my life to save my father if I had to," Harry said irritably.

"Oooh, playing the noble now are we?" Peter sneered.

"At least I have someone worth fighting for!" he exploded. "You _don't_."

Peter slightly widened his eyes as he felt all his tense muscles dropping down. He stared down at the ground before uttering a whisper.

"That's not true…I have Tony…" Peter whispered.

Harry softened his expression; a sudden guilt came across him.

"Peter, I'm—"

"Leave it," Peter said hastily.

Sighing, Harry went back to work as Peter stared at the floor and closed his eyes.

Annoyed, Peter opened a book, a piece of paper fluttered out. Raising an eyebrow, Peter grabbed the paper and skimmed the headline:

 _Green sightings continue..._

He narrowed his eyes and threw the paper away.

* * *

Michelle met Peter outside of the classes. Since both of them finished, they decided to take a breather and to see what's new in downtown.

"Hey," Peter greeted.

"Hey," Michelle nodded. "So I take it that Harry's still angry at you?"

"Yeah..." Peter muttered.

As they began to walk, Michelle spoke.

"Why would you even thought of Harry's dad being the Green Sight?" she frowned.

Peter shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Can you blame me? I mean, he's dad hasn't practically been around him in like forever. He's always doing some kind of _Project Green_ work."

"Project Green?" Michelle said suspiciously.

"I don't know what that means—"

"Did you broke into the company _again_?"

"It was Harry's idea. Not mine. Why does everyone keep thinking about me doing something stupid such as that? I only broke into OsCorp before so I can _save_ people," Peter replied angrily.

"Okay, I get it," Michelle muttered.

Peter sighed. "Sorry. It's just that...I want people to think that Spider Man is good, not a threat."

"Don't you? I mean, the public loves you, right?"

"I guess but it took them forever," Peter. "Anyway..."

He stopped in mid-sentence as he saw who it was in front of them.

"Harry!" Michelle exclaimed, greeting him.

"Hey Michelle," Harry said. He moved his eyes away from Michelle and locked his stare at Peter who had a straight face.

"Gwen," Michelle nodded.

"Hey," Gwen grinned. "I never thought of meeting you guys here. You're usually in the library."

"Um yeah..." Peter mumbled, avoiding Harry's gaze.

Gwen frowned at the gesture though she dropped it, assuming they had gotten into a fight.

"Can we go?" Peter mumbled to Michelle.

Sighing, Michelle nodded. "Um, it was nice seeing you..."

As they walked away, Harry's phone rang which made Peter stopped as he heard a "hello?"

"What?" Harry asked. "Is he alright? When did it happen?"

There was a small pause as everyone waited for a response to come out of Harry.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

"What happened?" Gwen wondered.

"My dad nearly got injured in a blow up at OsCorp. I've got to go," Harry said, pushing between them as he went down the street.

"Harry! You shouldn't go alone!" Gwen cried out, chasing after him.

"Um...I'll be back..." Peter said though Michelle gave a knowing look.

"Just go after them," Peter muttered.

Once Michelle chased after them, Peter turned to the opposite side, running down the street and into a small alleyway. He mumbled angrily as he pulled down the zipper open of his sweater

"I'm going to risk my life for his father," Peter muttered angrily. "Damn it, Harry. Don't die. I'm coming for you."

Peter zipped into the sky in his suit and within minutes, he arrived at OsCorp where the fire trucks were already there. Even the police as well.

Peter landed beside the firemen crew.

"Is anyone else in there?" Spider Man asked.

"Not as far as we know. We're putting out the fires," one of the firemen replied.

"What about Norman Osborn? Did he make it out?"

"No, I couldn't see him. Even his employees say that they hadn't saw him coming out."

"Okay, I'm going to check for him and for others."

Spider Man zipped at the building, going at the broken level of the structure.

Spider Man went through the opening, landing on a clear spot.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Spider Man called out.

He side stepped as he let the burning objects tumble down.

 _I need to act fast._

Going further in, Spider Man noticed how thick the fog is.

"Hello?" he coughed.

When the room seemed quiet, apart from the crackling fire, Spider Man started to turn around as he thought he saw a figure.

"Hello!" he tried again.

Peter rushed towards the figure who went on its knees. The smoke got thicker. The person tried to move but couldn't and Peter got to him.

"Hey, don't move! Stay on the ground!" Peter shouted but stopped, staring at him with wide eyes. "Harry?"

Harry coughed violently as he tried to get up.

"Harry, stop moving. Damn it," Peter said as he went to towards him, grabbing his arm so that it was over Peter's shoulder.

"Get...away from me," Harry grunted.

Peter narrowed his eyes. "Don't be so stupid. Why are you here? Besides, I'm the one who I should be angry at _you_ but I'm putting that aside."

"My dad never made it out so sorry if I want to rescue him," Harry muttered.

"You can't go without some protection!"

"Why do you care?" Harry shoved him away. "You're the one who claims my dad's a serial killer."

"Honestly? We're arguing that about now?" Peter asked.

"Just go on your way."

Peter watched as how Harry struggled to get through but he was about to go after him until his senses buzzed on.

It came too fast but Spider Man was able to avoid the blast. The attack crashed at a far wall which only made it worse as the wall tumbled down.

"Spider Man!" a voice snarled through the smoke.

Spider Man squinted his eyes through the smoke and then in a blur, something shot out and Spider Man just managed to get out of the way.

Spider Man glared through the fog as he saw green lights flashing through the smoke.

"Who are you?" Spider Man yelled.

"Someone from the dark who's on a hunt for you!" he shouted. "This night will be your last!"

Spider Man narrowed his eyes and slightly straightened himself. "So, you finally showed yourself."

Growling, the enemy took out circular objects that were in green. It began to flash when the foe turned them on. Eyes wide, Spider Man quickly reacted as he dodged to the right to avoid the blast and went to the left to avoid another attack.

 _He's going to bring the building down with those bombs._

Nevertheless, Peter started to run away from the enemy.

 _Worst part is I don't even know who is. Or his weakness._

Regardless, Peter continued to avoid the throws that came from the opponent while he also threw objects at the person in hopes of slowing him down. Peter glanced behind and saw Harry struggling to walk.

"Oh! What do we have here? A helpless person, huh?" the green creature sneered as he prepared two bombs.

Eyes wide, Peter began to swing across in order to catch up with Harry but the green being had the same idea when Peter started to swing on the webs. The foe then threw the bombs just as Peter was about to push Harry out of the way.

"Harry, watch out!" Peter shouted.

But the warning came too late. As Peter released his webs, the webs got singed as they came in contacted with the explosion and the two flew backwards from the shockwave, tumbling down harshly to the ground.

 **Author's Note:** Alright, Greenie decided to show up! Obviously, you guys had most likely figured it out. But ooh, that blast gotta sting badly. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	14. Two Voices

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story. Thanks to nico2883 for favoring the story.

Responses:

Sonar: If you go back and read Spider Man: Corrupted, it'll tell you. However, you can also read Spider Man: Corrupted, chapters 25, 26 and27 that are titled as Of Lies and Rumor, The Ways of the Hunter and Spider Man's Choices. Those three will contain the answer you're looking for.

* * *

Chapter 14: Two Voices

Ears ringing. Vision blurry.

Peter opened his eyes but a bright, glaring light greeted him as for a moment but through the fuzziness, he was met with orange yellowish glare.

Fire!

Peter tried to avoid them by getting up but something prevented him to do so as if there was a large heavy block that suddenly got dropped on him.

He has to try again.

"Stop. Stop. Stop," the commanding voice said sternly. "You're alright. You took quite a heavy blast and your body needs healing. Peter…"

Someone was calling out to him though as Peter cleared out his vision more, he was met with the eyes of Tony who softened his expression.

Peter blinked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Tony…?"

"Hey kid," Tony said softly.

"What happened?" Peter asked, lifting his hand towards his face only to not feel the mask but his skin.

"The blast struck you...and well...guess you could see what the result is," Tony said as Peter yanked the mask off and saw at least half of it being torn.

He felt his heart dropped from the sight of it but put it at the aside.

"What about Harry?" Peter muttered.

"He's in the hospital. I couldn't risk bringing him here. Not when you're like this; there were too many people."

After Peter felt he could get up, he decided to go to the hospital. Once there, he checked in with the receptionist who told him where to go.

Peter stood in front of the closed door once he got in and stared at the figure who was at the bed while the doctors were bustling around.

He gave a small smile at the doctor who exited.

Letting out a small sigh, Peter pulled up a stool and sat beside the bed. Even though Harry was awake, they didn't say anything.

"I'm...sorry," Peter said, interrupting the silence since he couldn't take it anymore.

Harry resumed staring at the ceiling, being quiet. Peter was about to get up until Harry spoke.

"I'm sorry too," his voice was hoarse and dry.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. "For what?"

"For not really listening to you when I should've."

"I guess we're both stubborn."

Harry slightly grinned. "Yeah..."

Peter struggled to say the next words. "So um...the doctors? What did they say?"

Harry gave a short chuckle. "I'm lucky to be alive. You saved me."

"But how?" Peter blurted out. "I couldn't reach you in time. My webs failed."

"I wasn't that close to the blast. I was but not close enough to cause actual damage. The doctors are having me here for almost a week; they just want to make sure my body is alright and stuff."

Peter nodded. He bit his lip and was about to speak until voices came out.

"Harry! Oh! You're alright!"

A blur of blonde and brown came into the view as they gave him a hug.

"Hey you two," Harry smiled, seeing Gwen and Michelle.

"I'm here too, you know," Peter announced.

"Shush. Harry's more important," Gwen replied.

"Thanks," Peter grunted.

"Well? How do you feel? Are you alright? Can you stand up? What did the doctors say?" Gwen bombarded him with questions.

"Alright! Take it easy!" Peter exclaimed, getting up and pushed the two around, ushering them out. "Harry will tell you everything once he's feeling better. Until then he needs rest."

"How come _you_ can be here?" Michelle snapped.

"Because I can. Now out!"

"I'll bring you your homework!" Michelle shouted before Peter finally managed to kick them out.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Peter leaned against the door.

"They're too much, huh?" Harry grinned.

"Yeah..."

After a while, Peter got out of the room as the doctor needed Harry for the time being. Peter gave a small "thank you" before he was out of the room.

Maybe he _was_ over thinking things.

If that was really Harry's father, then he wouldn't hurt his own son.

Would he?

If there was anything, it was that Norman Osborn is indeed a mystery.

After the trip, Peter went to his usual routine although the dorm was quiet. Nevertheless, Harry gave an update and he was able to leave the hospital in about two days.

And true to her words, Michelle was giving Harry the recent pile of homework.

"Give the guy a break," Peter muttered as he eyed the pile.

Michelle checked her phone before putting it away. "You gotta have homework if you want to pass your exams," she paused. "Even if you know everything."

Peter groaned.

Two days later, Harry came back and he seemed to be well though he was slightly having trouble catching up to his usual routine but with the help of Peter, Harry was up to his feet in no time. Perhaps the only disappointing thing was the pile of homework he had.

"So…you don't mind helping me out, right?" Harry casually asked.

Peter chuckled. "Nice try but even you don't get special treatments so no."

Harry muttered as he went back to work.

Grinning, Peter dug into his pile of homework and found out that there was a borrowed book he needed to return to the library. He winced; the librarian's gonna get on his case again.

"Hey um...I'll be back. I just need to return the book," Peter said.

* * *

Eddie Brock jolted as he opened his eyes wide. He gave out heavy breaths as sweat poured down his face.

He clenched his fists tightly as he stared empty at the cover of his blankets.

This had been different with him.

Ever since he...bonded with that strange creature, he wasn't feeling the same. Sure, he had abilities that were given to him but was it worth it?

Eddie growled.

It's all Spider Man's fault.

If he hadn't shown up then he wouldn't have to go out and prove that he's better than anyone.

Eyes narrowed, Eddie threw the covers away as he put on the clothes though he took a peek at the clock.

It was only 8:30 so the night was pretty young. Eddie only went to bed early since he wasn't feeling well but maybe a bit of fresh air from the cool night will help.

Once he was out of the room, Eddie stood in front of the closed door, his eyes darting to both sides.

The hallway was almost empty; there are a few people scattered on the floor talking to their friends.

As if they hadn't have dorms to do that.

"Hey, it's Brock!" a voice exclaimed.

Eddie stopped as he glanced to the side to see one of his friends running up to him; the others gave cheerful smiles.

"I'm assuming you're better?" the girl asked.

"A bit..." Eddie muttered. "I'm just going for some fresh air..."

"Want me to come with you?" she asked, delighted.

"No. I need to be alone."

"Okay," she said flatly as the hope she once had disappeared. "I hope you'll feel better..." she went back to the group as Eddie went on his way.

 _I'm still feeling weak..._

When he found a secluded hallway, Eddie leaned against the wall in a sluggish way.

Since he was looking more at the ground, he wasn't watching where he was going since he bumped into a person who nearly dropped an item.

"Move out of the way!" Eddie snarled.

"No. I don't think I will unless you say sorry," the person sneered.

Growling, Eddie looked up and saw Peter with a frown on his face, crossed arms.

"Parker...I don't have time to deal with you," he grunted then went past by Peter.

"Green isn't your best color!" Peter called out though he narrowed his eyes.

 _He looks horrible...I wonder..._

Disregarding his original destination, Peter turned to the other way of where Eddie walked by.

Peter turned a corner until he halted himself in his tracks as he saw Eddie struggling. He narrowed his eyes, peeking from the corner.

 _I hate the pain...the feeling of being weak...I'm stronger than that!_

 _ **Oh but you're not. You see, you cannot live without the other. I'm bonded with you.**_

 _You're wrong._ I'm _the one who can live._ You _can't_ _ **.**_

"So get off!" Eddie screamed as he tried to rip out the cursed creature.

If he has to rip his flesh out then so be it.

Eddie began to claw out his skin, gnawing at his face.

"You are no God!" Eddie yelled as he thrashed around.

" _You fool! Stop moving around!"_ it said sharply.

 _Who is he talking to?_ Peter wondered in thought.

Hissing, the creature finally succumbed and it withdrew itself from Eddie. Peter widened his eyes as he saw the small black critter, hissing.

"You...get away from me..." Eddie gritted his teeth.

Hissing like a snake, the being started to lunge at him but before it was able to attack at Eddie, something stopped it.

"Didn't hear you hear him? You're no longer wanted," the newcomer spoke.

Eddie raised his head only to see Spider Man holding onto the creature with his webs.

"Lucky...I came to your rescue," Spider Man grunted as he slightly felt being pulled away.

"Go!"

Eyes narrowed, Eddie walked away and disappeared around the corner, being out of sight. As soon as he left though, the creature grabbed the web and yanked Spider Man away, giving a small exclaim as he flew over him.

Instead of falling, Spider Man landed on his feet.

"Hey...I know you," Peter said. "You're that creature from Prof. Slatter's class," he hardened his stare. "I'm assuming Brock let you out," he replied through gritted teeth as he remembered the day when Slatter gave them a lecture.

The being laughed. " _Very good..."_

"What _are_ you?"

" _Curious, I see. I'm a being from another world. We call our species Symbiote. We're creatures that need to bond with other beings."_

"Well, I need you to stop bonding with people. It's not cool and not right. You can't force people to be your host."

 _"You fool...We only feed in negative emotions...grief_... _fear_... _anger...hatred...and I can sense you have a lot of those emotions."_

Peter gritted his teeth. "No, I don't!" Peter straightened himself up as an idea came to his mind.

"What about we make a deal?"

Sensing the interest, Peter continued.

"I'm not going to hurt you and I want you to get out of here. No more bonding. No more host. No more dark powers."

" _An intriguing deal...but if you join us...we'll make a great team...you'll be stronger and quicker than before..."_

 _Damn, sounds tempting..._

However, Peter shook his head. "No, my deal still stands...so are we clear?"

The creature glared at him before it spoke.

" _Fine_... _I'll go..."_

Peter nodded. "Thank you."

As Spider Man started to turn around and began to walk, he suddenly stopped.

"And don't _ever_ let me catch you coming here again."

With that, Spider Man released his webs and swung out of its sight.

As he disappeared, Venom darkened its stare before slithering to the direction Spider Man had just went.

 **Author's Note:** Oh! I'm done this chapter! Bear in mi d that I sometimes write the chapter at my work XD but is this the last we'll see Venom? What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	15. Something Sinister

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to cc5771027 for favoring and following the story. Thanks for Sonar reviewing the story. Thanks to SymbioticSpidey for reviewing the story. Thanks to The Striking Storms for favoring and following the story. Thanks to Spiderfan for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 15: Something Sinister

Snow was swirling down, covering the city like a large white blanket; Christmas was approaching fast. Regarding with the enemies, things have been quiet if Peter were to be honest. Especially with Carnage. Peter would have thought Carnage would have at least made a comeback but Peter knew he would be back.

When? He doesn't know.

And it seems as though the strange creature known as Venom had disappeared too since there wasn't any news regarding about him. Maybe Peter really did got rid of him.

As for Peter and Harry, Peter is safe to assume that the two are back to being friends. Apparently, a dose of an explosion can bring common sense back.

However, it seemed as though Harry was getting a bit more attention on how he had heroically went into in the building to look for some people and to have them be brought to safety.

"...I couldn't do it without my pal, Spider Man though. Right, Pete? You saw he was there," Harry slightly laughed as he gave a harsh pat against Peter's back.

Peter slightly stumbled forward from the impact.

"Right..." Peter muttered.

Scowling a bit, Peter fixed his shirt from the top and grunted.

"Wow, I never knew getting this much attention could be so fun. How do you do it, Pete? You keep getting all this...fame and yet you never let it bother you."

"It's simple," Peter said. "I don't let it get through my head. I can't risk other people knowing who I am."

"Fair enough..."

"Hi, Harry..." two girls greeted him as they passed by him, giggling.

Harry turned around to glance at them. "Hello, ladies..."

Peter groaned. "Just don't get carried away..."

Harry paused as he grinned. "You're not jealous are you?"

Peter widened his eyes. "Me? Jealous? As if."

Harry chuckled as he slung his arm over Peter's shoulder.

"Sure you're aren't, Pete..."

* * *

A slithering sound was heard followed by a soft hiss. The creature continued to slither across the ground as it darted its eyes left and right.

Venom was feeling weak and he needed to bond with someone.

He gave out a painful gasp though he stopped when he sensed another presence. He slither to another corner, hiding from plain sight as it waited for its prey.

Peter walked down the hall as he was heading towards his dorm. Harry seemed to be of a burden in all honesty and he didn't think Peter could stand him anymore.

 _Even with all of the fame, I guess Harry still feels lonely..._

Pursing his lips, Peter shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets as he passed a corner, being oblivious to the danger that was hiding in a corner. But as he was walking away, the Symbiote almost immediately crawled towards him as he sensed a strong aura emitting out of him.

He could be the one.

Nevertheless, the Symbiote slithered towards him until he latched onto himself at the back of his jeans, concealing himself against the dark colored of Peter's jeans.

Peter eventually reached his dorm and closed the door as he leaned against it, letting out a sigh.

"Where have you been?" Harry asked.

Peter frowned. "Just around. Why?"

Harry raised one of his eyebrows. "It took you—wherever you went—thirty minutes just to finish whatever you had to do."

Peter slightly clenched his fists. "So now I have to report to you on daily basis?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "I didn't say that you needed to do it. Honestly, what's gotten into you lately? You've just been…cranky and well…just plain cranky to be honest."

Peter pinched at the bridge of his nose. "It's alright," he replied hastily. "I'm going to bed."

"Whatever," Harry muttered.

And then in the pile of heap where Peter had thrown his jeans, something moved.

It was late in the night, sometime half past midnight and while everyone had no trouble sleeping, Peter was the only one who actually had trouble sleeping. He kept turning around; goosebumps going on his skin.

The flashes of green came into his mind, showing the haunting face of the creature which Spider Man had encountered with. It then flashed to another image which showed the black creature that turned its head around until it lunged forward, opening its wide jaws.

Peter jumped, letting out a panic breath. He panted heavily as bead of sweats rolled down at the side of his head. He tightly clenched at the tip of the blankets until they were white but he turned his head to the side to see the bright red numbers of the alarm clock.

 _2:15_

Peter groaned before he flopped back down, staring at the ceiling with thoughts coming into his mind.

That was only a dream. Nothing more.

With that, Peter grabbed the covers and covered himself as he rolled to the side. He stared at the wall before finally giving in to sleep. However, as he did, Harry stared (who hadn't budged) stared at the side of nothingness as he thought he heard Peter shuffling around.

Peter awoke early next morning though he had other thoughts in his mind as he was rethinking the strange dream he had. Peter thought it was really a dream—just flashes of images that came into his head. Sighing, Peter got up, throwing the covers away and making his way towards the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked who also woke up.

Peter slightly narrowed his eyes, turning his head at Harry who gave him a straight look.

"I'm fine," Peter muttered, slightly annoyed.

"You were tossing around in your sleep."

"Honestly, I just had one of my nightmares. Give me a break," Peter muttered angrily before dragging himself towards the door.

As Peter exited the dorm, Harry was about to call out then changed his mind.

"Wait, you forgot to—eh, never mind," Harry shrugged as he started to get up.

However, the sound of the door opening came back and Harry grinned even though his back was facing Peter.

"Forgot to change out of your pajamas?" Harry chuckled.

"Yes," Peter mumbled. "Now hurry up. I need to go to the bathroom too."

Once finished, the two of them went their separate ways for classes though Peter was more deep in thought, going back to the conversation he had went with Harry who told him that he was getting angrier.

Peter hesitated.

He didn't seem...angry, was he?

Sure at times he felt angry but everyone gets mad all the time. But lately, everyone seemed to piss Peter off though Peter didn't mean to snap at them.

Sighing, Peter entered the class where the Professor had already begun teaching.

Nevertheless, Peter's mind wasn't in class. Instead, he kept thinking of the enemies that were lurking around and he couldn't help but to think about them. They were far stronger than he was.

If Peter had something that could help him to predict were the enemies would strike that would help. His senses could only do so much.

Peter paused in though and let out a grin.

He totally forgot that he was in a club: _Science_ club for that matter.

Peter would just have to make some kind of excuse—a good one—for them to help him out.

If it works, Peter probably would never steal something from Tony again and that way Happy wouldn't get in trouble.

Since classes ended, Peter quickly dashed out of the room and headed straight for the Science Club. He hadn't been this eager to go to a club in forever.

"Hey guys. I'm here!" Peter exclaimed as he slid across the door only to miss the entrance.

He slightly stumbled forward and got into the classroom.

"So much for a cool entrance. You completely missed the exit," the leader spoke.

Peter scowled a bit. "Nice to see you too," he mumbled as he took in his usual seat.

The Captain snorted before he spoke. "Alright guys. We should think of something to make that would be totally cool and useful."

"I propose we make an advanced spy glasses!" Michael announced.

"There already are spy glasses," one of the boys shot down the idea. "Why not we make a suit?"

"There's Iron Man."

"Or...why not we make something...um...kinda like a gadget that would predict enemies move?" Peter suggested.

All eyes were turned on him; some of them raised eyebrows.

"You mean...a heat signature technology?" Blaine replied. "Sorry but that already got invented."

Peter threw him an annoyed look. " _No._ Not that kind. A gadget where its going to be build that can track miles of the intruder's attack. It can let us know where it'll happen, what area and cool things like that."

Carter gave a thoughtful look. "I think I know where Parker is coming from but where are we going to get the item?" he paused, giving a suspicious look. _"Why_ do you need this?"

"It's not for _me_ ," Peter insisted. "You guys want to make cool stuff right? That's what you're all about. So why not make something new and cool?"

"And have the FBI coming in here. Cool, I'll join," Michael said sarcastically.

"It's not illegal," Peter muttered.

The Captain gave a thoughtful look. "You know...we'll do it. I don't know why you need it but it could be fun."

"I don't need it," Peter said exasperated.

"Operation Gadget is in process!"

Peter grinned.

 _Cool. Totally cool._

But now that Peter thinks about, he isn't sure himself if he could do it as Spider Man. He hasn't exactly explored more of his abilities but now since he thought about it, Peter wondered if he could do it...

"What are you grinning about?" Drake muttered.

The grin vanished from Peter instantly. "Uh nothing. Nothing at all."

Nevertheless, Peter finally returned to his dorm. The Science club had a very heavy discussion about the gadget Peter had suggested to make.

It finally ended around ten though Peter didn't feel tired.

 _Hmmm...maybe a quick patrol would be nice._

Once he got to the dorm by quietly opening the door, Peter closed it and began to look for his suit. He knew he left it somewhere in his closet.

He paused.

It seemed Harry hasn't come back.

Nevertheless, Peter resumed his search. He made a small smile when he found it but a small confusion came on his face.

 _Weird...I thought I had put it far at the corner..._

Shrugging, Peter grabbed as he thought he probably misplaced it. Once he put it on, he felt something dark and cold going on around him.

He sharply turned around, staring into the darkness.

"Hello?" Peter asked, hesitantly.

Peter stopped what he was doing and started to go look into the darkness. As he was walking, something cold and slimy began to crawl from the front of his jeans. He felt his heart beating rapidly and his blood roar in his ear.

Something wasn't right. And if that's the case, why wasn't his Spider senses buzzing on?

 _Spider Man..._

Peter froze. "I'm not him."

The sinister voice chuckled. _"I can sense that you're different. You're not like the other normal human being...You're brave...powerful...but we can be more. We can have unlimited power. Imagine..."_

The critter started to cover more of Peter who stood on his spot, paralyzed. He hasn't gotten a clue as to where this voice was coming from but it was dark and ominous and Peter didn't like it.

 _"The two of us...we as a team. Those new enemies won't stand a chance..."_ the voice hissed. " _Imagine...where the world would see a new...SPIDER MAN!"_

And then, the creature finished consuming Peter who had been thrashing around, trying to get off the nasty presence but to no avail.

He screamed, creating a hole in the wall as he punched it and then fell to his knees, having his hands covering his neck and a bit of his face. He clawed, trying to get the slimy substance off him until Peter dragged down his hands, lowering his head while placing his hands on the floor.

Sharp, short breaths came out as he clenched his fists tightly but then he raised his head and instead of showing his usual Spider mask, it was now covered in black with white eyes that was glaring at the front with a haunting stare before it sunk back to its original form.

 **Author's Note:** I love how you guys were anticipating if Peter was going to bond with Venom XD but you have your answer! It DID happen! So I hope I did Venom justice and no. There'll NOT be an emo dance scene because that was just terrible...-_-' But...HAPPY NEW YEAR! I HOPE YOU ALL HAD A WONDERFUL 2017 AND MAY 2018 BE ALSO WONDERFUL TO YOU! HAPPY NEW YEARS!


	16. A Very Frosty Christmas

Chapter 16: A Very Frosty Christmas

"Peter? Hey, Peter. Wake up."

Peter flickered his eyes though his vision was a bit blurry at first. It gradually became clearer only to face Harry who was looking at him with a concerned look.

Harry frowned when he saw Peter on the floor with half of his cover covering him.

"What happened?" Peter slurred a bit.

"You tell me. I found you like this when I came in and mind explaining the hole in the wall?" Harry gestured to the broken wall.

"Uh..."

Peter stared at the wall blankly. What _did_ happen? He hardened his stare, suddenly realizing at how Venom took over. He was sure of it.

"Venom..." Peter said.

Harry raised an eyebrow, shaking his head. "You make no sense."

"But—" Peter protested though when he got up, he cringed at the head rush he gotten. "Ungh...too fast..."

After composing himself, Peter threw the covers back to his bed.

"When did you come?"

Harry shrugged. "I think it was just a little past midnight. I had to be careful when coming back here," he chuckled.

Harry started to walk only to stop. "Oh...and you really shouldn't wear your suit. Who knows who could come in here."

"Yeah..." Peter said breathlessly as he stared at the hole.

* * *

Michelle scowled.

For the past ten minutes, she had been trying to concentrate on her work but a bunch of giggling girls that were next to her were being annoying.

She quirked an eyebrow, her scowl deepening.

"Will you guys shut up?" Michelle hissed.

One of them glared at her, laughing nastily. "Keep your face that way and it'll freeze like that. Oh wait; I forgot. It already did."

Michelle growled. "At least I have a _natural_ face. Not plastic ones."

The girls gasped as Michelle chuckled.

 _That oughta put them in place. Nice going, Michelle._

Much to her pleasure, the bell rang which indicated that the class had ended. She breathed a sigh of relief as she was eager to get out.

Not that the class itself was bad. Oh no. Michelle enjoyed it thoroughly but the problem was the student body.

If they had gotten rid of those brats then maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

Nevertheless, Michelle scribbled down the required homework which was written on the board before exiting out.

Even though there were only a few days for Christmas to come, to her, it already felt like Christmas.

The city was so beautiful when it's covered in white.

She sighed. It's been a while since she had saw Peter. In all honesty, Peter had changed so much but she supposed she couldn't blame him. She would've change too if she was in Peter's place especially at how much he goes through. Losing his parents, his uncle, Ned (Michelle felt her eyes go teary) and now his Aunt.

Those deaths…it could really take a toll on a person.

Michelle had missed the cheery Peter; now he was just brooding and miserable although there were times where Peter was trying to be happy but failed miserably.

She hoped that when this all done, when all of the evil was over, Peter would be back to his normal self. Also, since Christmas was coming up, she wondered where would Peter stay. Yes, he could go over to Tony now that he's officially a legal guardian to him or he'll be staying at the campus.

Michelle paused in her thought.

She _could_ bring him over to her house over the holidays and have him introduce to her father. Now _that_ would be cool.

Grinning slightly, Michelle took out her phone and texted Peter.

 _Hey. Christmas is coming over. Want to come over the holidays?_

Since Peter would probably be busy right now, Michelle began to put her phone away and just as she was putting it in her pocket, her phone vibrated. Slightly surprised, Michelle pulled her phone back up.

 _As long as I'm not on the cop's menu dinner for being 'the most wanted vigilante', sure._

Michelle chuckled. _I promise._

Even though her father wasn't really around that much—due to being a police—she loves him all the same and understands the hardship of what her father goes through. But when he does come home, he uses the opportunity to spend as much time with Michelle as he could and for that, Michelle was very grateful since half the time, he comes home when she's asleep.

But things are a bit different now that Michelle is in a University, bunking in with a roommate, going to bed late at night—mostly due to homework. Regardless of all that, she still keeps in touch with her dad whenever she could.

Michelle opened the door for her dorm where she was sharing with a roommate as previously mentioned. Her roommate was rather cool, down to earth person so that makes it easier for Michelle to hang out with her. Which was probably why she doesn't spend a lot of time hanging out with Peter and Harry but when she sees them, she uses the chance to do so.

When she entered the room, she eyed the space that was now cluttered with papers, books and a suitcase.

"Going home for the holidays?" Michelle guessed.

Her roommate, who was blonde, turned around to see Michelle grinning at the mess. A slight blush crept on her cheeks though the girl was grinning as well.

"Guilty," Gwen stated.

Michelle laughed, dumping her things on her bed. "That's alright. I gotta start packing too."

Gwen gave her a look. "Well, since I'm already packing, why don't you do it now? I mean, in all honesty, the room couldn't get any messier."

Michelle laughed. "True."

That being said, the two began to pack their things in an almost silent room; the only sound that was occasionally heard were the fluttering of notebooks and loud thumps from the books.

"So…doing anything for Christmas?" Gwen asked, deciding to break the silent.

Michelle shook her head. "No. Not really. I'm spending it with my dad while also inviting Peter over for a dinner."

Gwen nodded. "Sound cool. Hey, you guys should come over too. My place. Whenever you come including Peter."

Michelle gave a thoughtful look before giving a small smile. "Huh…I'll ask my dad about it and let you know."

"Okay."

Nevertheless, the break came which made the students ecstatic and Michelle was standing on her toes as she stood in the main foyer of the Resident building, waiting for Harry and Peter. She had already said goodbye to Gwen and bid her a 'Happy Christmas'. She let out a small impatient sigh when she finally spotted the two boys heading her way.

Harry breathed out a sigh of relief. "Sorry, Michelle. I had to wait for Peter since he was taking his time," he slightly scowled at Peter who shrugged, carelessly.

"Not my fault," Peter mumbled.

Just before the two left, Peter had went back to the Science Club in order to see how the gadget was going and while offering in any way on how Peter could help. So far, Michael stated that it was still in process but it's going to take a long time especially now that they are going on a break.

"Anyway, shall we go?" Michelle asked.

The two nodded.

As they were walking, Peter went back to his and Michelle's conversation regarding with the Christmas dinner.

"So um…when do you want me to come over?" Peter questioned.

"Um…whenever you can, I guess. I was maybe thinking coming on the day of Christmas Eve, if that's alright. Tony is more than welcomed to come and of course you as well, Harry," Michelle added.

"Gee, thanks for remembering me," Harry mumbled.

"Sorry," she grinned sheepishly.

"Alright."

Nonetheless, the three departed their ways when they saw their rides. Peter eyed the fancy black limo with dark windows that was waiting right in front of the building though it gained some attention to it from the crowd.

Despite the crowd, Peter trailed his eyes towards the figure who was standing in front of the limo, all dressed in a fancy attire that was completed with a sunglasses.

"Peter!" the voice exclaimed which made Peter give a small smile.

"Hey, Tony!" Peter greeted.

Grinning, Tony placed an arm around his shoulder as he guided Peter through the opened door which got unlocked from Happy. Once settled in and the car being pulled away from the parking spot, Tony cleared his throat to start a conversation.

"So…how was school?" Tony asked.

Peter chuckled lightly as Tony tried to start a 'normal' conversation. "It's going good, I suppose. I've met some bullies but they're all old news to me so I ignore them. I've met some new classmates but I mostly hang around with Harry and Michelle though lately Michelle and I haven't exactly be seen eye to eye other than group studies. Oh! And speaking of which," Peter rambled as he got more excited. "Michelle invited us and Harry to her house for Christmas Eve dinner. Of course, I said I'm already going but what about you? Can you come?" Peter asked, eyes being hopeful.

Tony hesitated. "Um…maybe…" Tony replied casually though when he looked at the rear-view mirror, he saw Happy giving him a look.

Deflated, Peter slumped his shoulders from disappointed. "Okay…" he said flatly and all the excitement and hope were gone.

Sensing the silence that's about to come, Tony tried to maintain the conversation. "Um…how's Harry and Michelle?"

"Fine," Peter said bluntly.

Tony winced but he continued nonetheless as a small smirk came upon his face. "Just _fine_? I know you and Michelle are friends but…"

Peter widened his eyes. "What? No! Aw, Mr. Stark. Come on! We're just friends—I promise," he insisted.

Tony chuckled at the protests from the young boy but he raised an eyebrow when Peter said 'Mr. Stark'.

"Mr. Stark? Come now, Parker. I'm your legal guardian now and I want you to drop those formal names. If you want…um…" Tony shifted awkwardly in his seat. "You can call me…um…dad…you know if you want to," Tony said quickly as he saw the stun look from Peter. "It's cool if you don't want to but I'm just—"

"I would love to—"Peter suddenly blurted out which surprised Tony who blinked.

"Oh? Oh um okay. That's cool too…" Tony slightly grinned.

Throughout the ride, Peter couldn't help but to keep his smile on his face.

 _I get to call him dad!_ Peter thought eagerly.

By the time they reached the Avengers Facility, evening rolled around and the limo pulled to a stop once it got parked. Tony gave a glance to the boy and made a small smile as he saw him sleeping; his head was rested against the windowsill and he gave out light snores. Chuckling quietly, Tony edged closer a bit as he proceeded to shake the boy up.

"Hey, Pete? Peter, wake up," Tony muttered.

It took about five shakes but Tony was able to see the small stir that was coming from him.

"What?" Peter mumbled incoherently. He blinked a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes.

"We're here," Tony answered.

This time, Peter had his eyes wide as he peered through the front window to stare at the majestic building. He had seen it before but he couldn't help but to gaze it in wonder and amazement. They then got inside where the building was filled with few people who were walking around, either getting to their stations or going somewhere else.

As Happy was tagging along behind them, Peter got enthusiastic again.

"Alright. So what do you want to do? We could go patrolling or we could do some activities," Peter rambled, eyes sparkling with delight.

"Um, why don't you go in and settle? I've got some things to do before Christmas takes over. I'm sure Happy will be glad to spend some time with you," Tony said.

"Sir?" Happy said with wide eyes.

"Right, Happy?" Tony gave him a look which made Happy sigh.

"Oh. Okay…" Peter said gloomy.

This is going to be a one frosty Christmas.

* * *

A knock came on Tony's office.

"Come in," Tony announced.

The door revealed to be Happy who had a straight look and he closed the door once he was in.

"Oh, Happy! I didn't expect you to come in. How's Peter? Is he settling in alright?" Tony asked.

However, Happy brushed off the questions as he now gave him a stern look with narrowed eyes.

"I think you might've missed on what the word _guardian_ or _dad_ means," Happy began.

Tony gave him a stun look. "Excuse me?"

"Listen, sir. Peter was ecstatic when you said he could call you dad if he wanted to. Right now, I think he's having second thoughts. You need to spend more time with him. He's been through a lot and he recently lost his aunt. He needs someone who can bond with him."

"I told you; I'm busy. I need to get these paperwork finished."

Happy narrowed his eyes. " _No._ You're not. With all due respect, you're going to forget about your work and you're going to bond with Peter during the holidays _and_ you're going to the dinner to Michelle's. No excuses," Happy said abruptly before he turned around but he stopped. "I'm sorry sir but there are times where you need to know where your priorities lie."

* * *

Regardless of what Tony said to Peter, Peter hadn't seen Tony until Christmas Eve. Peter supposed he was a bit happy—no pun intended—when he saw Tony but Peter put himself in his quarters, only coming out whenever he needs a breather.

A knock came which made Peter sigh as he stopped what he was doing, putting the photobook under the covers of the bed.

"Come in."

The door revealed Tony who looked a bit stiff but Peter brushed it off as he glanced the other way.

"I thought you were busy," Peter muttered as his eyes were devoid of emotions.

Tony cleared his throat as he sat down next to him. "Well um…things came up and I'm no longer am so that being said, I thought you had to go to the Christmas dinner at Michelle's?"

"I know…"

"Well…if you want…I could go with you…that is if you still want me to."

The once lifeless eyes were now suddenly sparked with excitement. "Really?" Peter asked delighted. "Like um…er…you're not busy or anything?"

"No. No."

"Yeah," Peter said breathlessly. "It would be great if you could come."

"Perfect. I'll ask Happy to drive us to her."

"Okay," Peter replied delighted. He then got off the bed, feeling fresh and exited out of the door.

As Peter was out of the room, Tony made a small smile but had a curious look on his face when he saw a bump on the bed. Raising an eyebrow, Tony uncovered the covers only to reveal the photo book. He drew in a sharp breath as he grabbed the book as a sudden pang of guilt came over him.

And as such, it was time to go to Michelle. However, during their small ride, Peter wondered if he would ever get to have Michelle tell her side of the story.

He winced when he found out about the information. He knew he shouldn't have interfered in other peoples' business but he was damn curious.

"This is where she lives?" Peter heard Tony mutter.

Peter turned his head to the side and saw a house that was nearly similar to Peter. The only thing that was different was the structure and the design.

It was a medium-size house with two levels. Both front at the upper level had two windows on each side while there was a large window with curtains at the sides at the main floor.

Even though it was a medium-sized house, in all honesty, it looked kind of small from the outside.

"I do hope you two would have a wonderful time," Happy replied as they got out. "I shall come whenever you desire."

Tony flashed him a small smile, giving him a small pat on the shoulder. As Tony was about to walk, he turned around and chuckled. He reached back into the car to take the gift where Peter was supposed to give it to Michelle.

Tony sighed. "He can be forgetful."

Grinning, Tony went to catch up with Peter who was waiting for the door to be opened.

"Uh, by the way, I think you had forgotten something," Tony said as he put the bouquet of red roses in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh right," Peter stammered, grabbing the gift just as the door opened.

It was Michelle who opened her door though that only made Peter widened his eyes even more as he saw her.

She wore an elegant red strapless dress that went up to her knees while her hair was pulled to the side, being held by shiny silver clips while some parts of the hair were loosely hanging down. She also wore silver strap high heels to complete the look.

"Uh...I brought you stuff..." Peter stumbled over his words as he shoved the flowers up front, causing Tony wince at the lack of gesture.

Michelle smirked and grinned a bit. "Thanks. Come in. My dad is dying to see you both."

The two stepped in as they took in the view. While the outside looked small, the inside was big. The guest room was large with a small chandelier hanging above the table that was full of plates, decorations and utensils.

To the other side of the table, there were two sofas with a golden brown color followed by a coffee table that was in the middle.

A brown armchair was in front of the table.

Through a medium size entrance, Peter could see a part of the kitchen.

With the guest room, there was a staircase that was leading upstairs.

Peter trailed his eyes to the left and saw another pathway that was probably leading to the bathroom or wherever.

"Anyway, come. We can sit directly to the dinner table if you want," Michelle said, interrupting Peter's observation.

Peter numbly nodded as Michelle walked away but as Peter started to walk, a small tug was pulled.

"Remind me to show you on how to properly give gifts to the host," Tony mumbled in his ear.

"We're just waiting for Harry," Michelle spoke.

Coming from the kitchen, a man who looked like he was in his forties that seemed to be Tony's height came. He had a jolly smile on his wrinkled face while his grey hair was sleeked back. He wore a black tuxedo with a white shirt underneath and a matching black shoes. He seemed the kind of person who wasn't an athletic type but he still had a slightly muscular body.

"Well, I'll be," the man grinned. "If it isn't Mr. Stark himself and his newly adopted son. How do you do?"

"Very well. Thanks," Tony nodded.

The man shook Tony's hand before giving his attention to Peter. "You must be Peter Parker. Michelle told me all about you."

"The good stuff, I hope," Peter laughed nervously as he shot her a look, wondering just how much Michelle told him.

"And I'm Lucas Jones," he smiled wide. "Please sit. Uh, I believe we're waiting only for the...Osborn kid."

"Harry, dad," Michelle corrected.

Peter moved towards Michelle and whispered.

"Jones?" he whispered.

Michelle sighed. "It's a long story."

A doorbell rang which made Lucas grin.

"Ah, I believe that's him."

The Christmas was delightful, needless to say. There weren't any complications as Lucas was asking questions to Tony who answered them smoothly and to the next he could since there were some complicated ones.

Peter merely listened to their conversation as he wasn't sure what to say to Michelle who was quietly eating her food whereas Harry also answered some questions from Lucas as well.

However, during the small questionnaire with Harry, Peter couldn't help but to think that in some hidden way, Lucas was slightly interrogating Harry.

Peter shrugged, thinking that he was probably thinking too much.

It wouldn't be the first time, anyway.

As the night came late, Tony figured it would be time to go but just as he was about to ask Peter, a phone ring came which made the chatter died down.

Lucas pulled his phone out and gave a small sigh.

"Sorry, it's work."

He excused himself from the table which made Michelle have sad eyes, biting her lower lip. When the conversation ended, Lucas came back.

"Do you have to go?" Michelle asked.

"Yes, I do but I promise I'll be back. You have good company here," he gave a kiss on her head though Tony's eyes fell on the girl.

"No. You stay," Tony replied as he got up.

Michelle widened her eyes as Lucas gave a stunned look.

"I'm s—sorry? What?" Lucas stammered.

"You _stay_. I'll go handle it. It'll be easy."

"Um...yeah. Actually, I also have to go to. Can't party too hard," Peter gave them a silly grin though Michelle and Harry both gave him a knowing look.

However, Tony shot him a warning stare though Peter ignored it.

Lucas shook his head. "It's quite alright. You're the guest and it's my duty."

"At least, let me assist you," Tony said firmly.

Peter scowled. "How can _you_ assist him if you don't have your suit?" he said a bit angrily.

Tony sighed as he gave him another look. The one that says 'you should know by now I always have a suit'.

Regardless, Tony raised his hand as he moved out of the way and activated the watch by flipping it forward.

At once, it came alive and the machinery covered Tony as it was crawling against his body before the mask came on with a _click_ sound.

"So...shall we?" Tony asked to a grinning Lucas.

"We shall."

"Don't do anything stupid while we're gone," Iron Man said, giving a knowing look to Peter.

They were then gone though it left Peter in a miserable state.

"Treat me like a kid. Why don't he?" Peter asked, irritated.

"With a good reason," Michelle pointed out.

"I've dealt with far bigger and psychotic villains before. _This_ is nothing!" he exclaimed.

Harry watched as Michelle curled her hands into fists.

"Peter, drop it," Harry said in a low voice.

"This is _nothing?!_ " Michelle shouted with threatening tears in her eyes. "My dad works endlessly to make sure that the citizens stay safe! I constantly worry if he would get home safely every night!"

"So Tony isn't sacrificing himself then? What is he doing? Partying?" Peter stated, feeling his blood boil with anger.

Michelle gave a harsh laugh. "Sometimes, I feel like he is."

Peter froze in his tracks. "I'm sorry. What? What did you just say?"

Michelle hardened her stare, her eyes cold and unkind. "What's wrong with you, Peter? I swear. Every time I come and see you, you're like a whole different person. You're always anger, everything annoys and it feels like everything doesn't suit you. What happened to the old Peter? You know, the awkward, clumsy cheerful guy?"

Peter closed his eyes as he let out heavy breaths. Harry was merely awkwardly staring at the floor, avoiding the heavy conversation. Peter then reopened his eyes and his lifeless eyes was staring back at Michelle.

"He _died_. He died when Ned died. He's gone when his parents, his uncle and his aunt got killed."

With that, Peter sharply turned around and headed for the door. As he grabbed the doorknob, he stopped as he slightly turned his head to the side.

"Merry Christmas," Peter responded before opening the door and closing with a slight _slam._

When Peter was gone, Michelle fell down to her knees and sobs racked her body. Harry joined her as he placed a comforting arm around her shoulder, murmuring.

"It'll be alright…everything's going to be okay."

 **Author's Note: **Whoo, a lengthy chapter! This is what happens when I get rid of my writer's block XD and a 'very frosty Christmas' indeed Dx Peter is indeed changing but I hope he goes back to his normal self what happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	17. The Truest Reason

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Shuguaku for favoring the story.

* * *

Chapter 17: The Truest Reason

Spider Man muttered to himself as he was jumping to one part to the next.

 _I can handle this,_ Peter thought. _I've dealt with bigger foes before and I always pull through. No reason for them to treat me like a kid. I'm a bloody hero whether Tony likes it or not. He's going to have to accept that fact._

He growled though for a brief moment, he released his grip and slightly rotated his body to the side, craning his neck to stare at the view.

He sighed before he resumed climbing. He eventually found a grate of where he could climb in though he grabbed hold of the gate so that it wouldn't make any loud noises.

He slid it in before climbing upwards and slightly turned himself to the side to stare below. There were many thugs; some of them were armed as they were walking around in their guarded station.

 _Hmph. Just a few crooks. Nothing to it. But who would be the main bad guy here?_ Peter thought as he sighed irritably. _It better not be Black Cat. I warned her though why would she rob in a place like this?_

Regardless, Peter took out the guards swiftly. He chuckled when he saw the last one as he lowered himself down. Peter tapped on his head, grinning like a Cheshire cat as the thug turned around.

"Hey there. It was nice knowing you," Peter grinned before he wrapped him up, pulling him upwards.

"Done and done," Peter said as he got down. "Now where would the robber be?"

He scowled. _At 792 feet and 60 stories, the guy could be anywhere. Why did he have to pick the Woolworth building?_

He then looked up, hearing a muffling sound. Spider Man narrowed his eyes as he shot himself upwards. Once close to the thug, Spider Man ripped the web that was around his mouth.

"You," he growled, grabbing the thief by the scruff of his shirt, pulling him closer. "Where's your boss?"

The crook laughed. "I ain't talking nuthin. You want answers from me, you're gonna have to force me."

Spider Man hardened his stare. "You must be brave or really foolish. Fine then. How about we talk a walk to the roof?"

"The roof?" the man replied, eyes wide and he slightly panicked.

"Aww, what's the matter? Afraid?" Peter sneered before cutting the webs and grabbed the man by his shirt.

"W-wait! Lemme go!"

Peter stopped as he stared straight in the eye of the panicking man.

"I'll...I'll tell you," the man sighed in defeat.

A glint in Peter's eyes came. "Pity though. I was hoping I would have you dangling from the rooftop but you're talking. Now talk."

"You haven't seen anything like that. It was a monstrous creature but it had a face like yours. Even the costume was almost the same. At first, I thought it was the actual Spider Man but then it wasn't since I thought: Spider Man doesn't kill. It came in...and it took out a group of policemen in a second before—"

And then, something was wrapped around Peter's ankle. Noticing the pull, Peter widened his eyes as he got pulled away, dropping the man.

However, Peter quickly released his webs, having the man be trapped against the wall as Peter was flying through the air.

He grunted, grabbing hold of the rail from the staircase though a harsh kick to the side of his head was met, forcing him to lose his grip on the rail.

But before Peter could even allow the rope to drag him further, he ripped the web apart with brute strength and landed on the side of the wall after he performed a flip.

"Where are you?" Peter demanded. "Show yourself!"

A cackling laughter was heard, causing Spider Man shiver at the unpleasant sound.

"You've changed, Spider Man," the shadow hissed. "I saw how the man was _frightened_ of you. You're not the same."

"What are you talking about? If you're not a coward, then come into the light."

And as so, the villain emerged from the shadow which made Peter widened his eyes.

"Carnage. Should've known," Spider Man growled. "But why the men? You don't need them."

Carnage chuckled. "Can you seriously not think of a reason?"

Peter hardened his glare. "Diversion. They're nothing more than a distraction."

"Oohh. Well done! I suppose you earned a medal of intelligence," Carnage sneered.

Peter stared at the movements of Carnage. In any case, there was something strange about it as though he was hiding something. Peter winced as he could feel something—that wasn't of his own—crawling inside of his body as though it was ready to take over.

"Why are you doing this?" Peter asked.

Carnage snorted. "Doing the typical hero questioning. Of course," he sighed. "You know, you should really change your tactics," he hissed.

 _If the men were a diversion...then why did Carnage set this up?_ Peter thought until he widened his eyes.

"It's a trap!" Spider Man bellowed. "You gathered the men for a distraction in order to talk to me. I've got to warn them!"

Carnage's sneer grew wide, sending an ominous feel to it.

"You'll do no such thing!" he snarled, heading towards Spider Man who had leaped away from his spot.

Carnage released his webs as he pulled a nearby stand, yanking it from its spot and sent it hurdling towards Spider Man who just performed a flip at the last second.

He went over the object as he did the move before landing on the floor as the stand crashed into the wall.

"They don't know what they're up against," Peter replied through his gritted teeth as he remembered how Michelle was upset about her father leaving for the job.

"I've dealt with you before!" Spider Man enraged as he jumped into the air with both of his hands up.

Snarling, Carnage moved away just as Spider Man brought his fists down which created a broken floor from the impact.

Eyes wide from rage, Spider Man picked up a nearby object and threw it at Carnage who avoided though it created a small cloud of dust where Carnage used it as an element of surprise.

Or so he thought.

Peter was able to sense it as he tackled head on, smashing Carnage hard enough against the wall so that the enemy was having a hard time to compose himself in a short timing.

Using this chance, Spider Man ran towards Carnage who had pulled himself away only to meet with a blow from Peter's feet.

Carnage was sent flying through the wall as he got smashed. He grunted when he fell down to the floor after he stopped himself from skidding any further.

A charged yell was heard, alerting Carnage who released his webs, aiming at Spider Man. But having another idea, Spider Man grabbed the webs, doing a twirl as he pulled Carnage closer to him.

Narrowing his eyes, Carnage waited until he was close to the web crawler and he struck a blow to Spider Man's stomach before kicking him roughly, sending him flying only a few centimeters away.

Peter crashed at a nearby display stand, destroying the glass but as he started to get away, Carnage quickly leaped at the opportunity by grabbing him at the neck in a tight grip.

Peter did the same thing, grabbing Carnage's neck do that both of them were in a tight hold.

" _What_ are you?" Carnage snarled.

All of a sudden, the police came into the view as they split into different directions so that they were surrounding the two. They aimed-not shooting-their weapons just in case.

"Ready at command," Stacy demanded as he narrowed his eyes at the two. "I want eyes on the enemy. This could get ugly."

Carnage gave a strangled laugh. "I see you brought back up."

Peter scoffed a bit though his lungs were squished as he tried to talk. "I didn't brought...them."

Carnage trailed his eyes, looking over Peter's shoulder and a mad gleam were in his eyes.

"Then I'm guessing Iron Daddy isn't yours?"

Peter slightly felt himself frozen but quickly regained his composure.

"Both of you don't move," the familiar voice announced as it growled dangerously. "Or I would have to use brute force."

Peter didn't know how much he could handle this. He could feel his vision slowly fading but he forced himself to be awake.

Peter had his eyes roam around as he was trying to create some kind of a distraction just so he could get out from the tight grip. There was a large chandelier that was hanging a few centimeters away. If he could reach that then just maybe he would have a chance of being released from this grip. It was worth a shot but what has he got to lose?

Using his free arm, Spider Man released his web that got attached to the chandelier. Once it was on, he then yanked it down, aiming it just so that the fancy light was falling at their direction. Peter realized that he has a split second to get out of the way or face the impact.

Noticing that he was able to use his feet, (something where Peter probably should've done it in the first place), he gave a rough shove at Carnage who stumbled backwards and Peter could feel his grip slightly being loose. And then, Peter jumped backwards as he was able to be free from the hold. It was as though it was in slow motion but in all honesty Peter wasn't really expecting for the chandelier to actually hit Carnage; Carnage was smarter than that and he would realize that it was a mere distraction.

Spider Man's theory proved right when Carnage leaped out of the way just in time as the chandelier crashed down to the ground. Peter turned his head to the side to protect his face from the shards that scattered around when it fell.

Peter turned to face at the front only to see that the enemy was gone. He gave out a sigh.

 _So much for a distraction._

"What are you guys doing here?" Spider Man asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Capturing the bad guy," Stacy responded as though it was an obvious answer.

"It's obviously a trap. You don't know what you're up against."

"Well then," Stacy grunted. "It's an obvious risk that we've got to take."

Iron Man walked towards Peter with a dangerous stare that was behind the mask and he lowered his voice when he talked to him.

"I told you to stay put," he slightly growled.

Peter glared at him but before he could speak, his spider senses buzzed on and he quickly moved out of the way by jumping to the side. However, Iron Man simply blasted the object into pieces with his repulsors.

"Carnage," Spider Man snarled.

The web crawler continued to pursue him while Stacy ordered his men to go after them just as he was walking forward.

Meanwhile, Peter grunted when he slammed his back against the wall. He kicked Carnage at his stomach, performing a punch across the jaw. Growling, Carnage glanced down to see the police advancing forward but it made him chuckle.

"You know what's funny?" he sneered. "If you're so focused on me then who'll save them?"

Peter clenched his fists. "Iron Man. He's with them."

Carnage threw his head and laughed. "He's only one man."

"Then so am I!" Peter exclaimed before shoving him out. Carnage tumbled down, rolling down the stairs until he composed himself. Snarling angrily, Carnage looked around his area and noticed how close the police were to reaching them.

"Might want to rethink your strategies, Spider Man! Who's really important? Me or them?"

With that, Carnage shape shifted his hand into a large axe that made Spider Man widened his eyes.

"NO!"

And then, Carnage sliced the stairs in half which made the group tumble down. Acting quickly, Iron Man started to gather as much as he could but he barely avoided the second attack that was made from Carnage.

"And you stay on the ground!"

As Iron Man blasted his attack, he got struck head on, right into the middle of the chest which made the reactor's glow died. For the time being, Spider Man froze in his spot as he watched Iron Man drop down to the lower level but sighed with relief a few minutes later when he saw Tony moving.

As with Carnage, he twirled himself to the side to avoid the blast.

Growling, Spider Man tackled Carnage so that they reached to the second part of the broken floor (away from the shattered staircase).

"How dare you," Spider Man said shakily.

Carnage threw him away to the side like a ragged doll though Peter pushed himself. However, he trailed his eyes down to the side to notice a gun that was lying beside a few inches away. A sudden dark thought entered his mind as he stared at the object that seemed to be taunting him.

 _ **Do it. He tortured you. Mercilessly killed people…put an end to him. Silence him forever…**_

Dark thoughts continued to trance Peter until he grabbed the object. He then performed swift move that made Carnage be on the ground and Peter placed his foot on his chest preventing him to move as he lowered himself, planting the gun in Carnage's mouth.

For a brief moment, time seemed still as both of them were waiting for each other's move. During the silence, Peter was sure that people could hear his short shaky breaths as the air got cold around them.

Carnage made a gurgle laugh as he saw the move.

"Do it then. You got the gun and now you can perform the deed. Show the people what you're really made of. Oh but wait…you don't kill," Carnage mocked him.

Shaking, Spider Man felt his finger going on the trigger which was funny since it felt like he had no control over his body.

 _ **Do it. Stop waiting! You let him go, he'll just do it again. He won't stop and we can end this. This is our time…show him what we're capable…**_

Peter felt his finger to finally pull the trigger until, in the split second, something forced him to snap out of his nightmare.

 _Stop!_

Peter gasped as he saw a flash of red that was battling a tint of black coming into his mind and using this chance, Carnage ripped apart the balcony's rail with his webs and then smashed it against Peter from the above. The impact was a brutal one as it sends Peter crashing down, startling the police as they watched Spider Man smash against a glass display, rendering him unconscious. During the fall though, a _splat_ could be heard.

Having his breath stuck in his throat, Iron Man walked towards him as the police advanced on him—not with cautious but with an intense pause. Iron Man clenched his fists at the sight but before he walked away, he glanced down only to see that there was a small puddle of black liquid that seemed to be crawling back to Peter.

Eyes Narrowed, Iron Man placed his hand on the goo-like liquid that was running down his hand as he stared at it.

* * *

Peter opened his eyes but cringed from the bright light. He stared at the blurry scene which was above him, being lost in thought until images from the battle went back into his mind.

Carnage!

Peter quickly pushed himself up but gave a sharp pain as he placed his hand around his abdomen.

"I see that you're awake. Good."

The boy turned to the side to see Happy walking in the room though Peter turned back to stare at the bed which could mean only one thing and that was he was in the med bay.

"What happened?"

Happy pondered on the question before he answered it. "You got badly injured and were brought into the med bay which I assume you had already figured out where you are. Nevertheless, once you are fully able to function, Mr. Stark would like to see you in the Data room."

Peter winced, knowing exactly what Tony would say to him. Sighing, Peter threw the covers away which startled Happy.

"You're not fully rested. Lay back down," Happy instructed as he tried to push Peter back down.

Being stubborn, Peter resisted his push. "No. Leave me alone, Happy," he mumbled.

Sighing, Happy stepped aside and let Peter stumble across the floor, swaying a bit to the side as he tried to walk. The pain in his abdomen was really hurting him but he could feel himself healing. Letting out a breath, Peter straightened himself up and began to properly walk forward.

Eventually, Peter reached the room where he knocked and a 'come in' was heard. Peter pushed the door open only to see Tony staring at the screen with a straight face.

"How are you feeling?" Tony asked, not even bothering to turn around since he already knew who it was.

Peter tensed, sensing the cold air that was in the atmosphere. "Um…fine…just in pain…a little…"

"So I see…" Tony muttered.

Peter suspiciously stared at the screen while small beeps from the computer gained his attention. Sighing, Tony pinched at the bridge of his nose and turned around. There were no emotions on his face but Peter could tell he was furious and worried; even his muscles were a dead giveaway, considering how tensed they were.

"When were you going to tell me that you have bonded with another living _creature_?" Tony asked in a quiet tone.

Ah. So that's what he was analyzing.

Peter furrowed his eyebrow. But how did Tony got a hold of the Symbiote's substance?

"Do you even _know_ where it came from? Or what it is? No of course not. You just blindly start trusting something that's from another world. _Completely._ "

"I didn't bond with it _willingly_. I don't know how it even got me in the first place. I didn't _sense_ it!" Peter exclaimed, suddenly being troubled.

These questions haven't even occurred to him. How _did_ he get bonded with this…thing? Why couldn't he sense it? Peter went back to the day where he had fought the very same Symbiote—not Carnage but with Eddie. Peter told the Symbiote to leave and not to come back and from there, the two went their separate ways.

Or so Peter thought.

But what really troubled him was the fact that he didn't even sense the critter at all. It was like it was _immune_ to it and that honestly scared Peter. He stared down at his hand where he flexed them. Now that they were talking about it, Peter _did_ felt rather odd and stronger than before. He felt even _darker_.

"What happened at the fight?" Peter demanded, having his hands go into fists.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "I don't know but all I saw was you falling down from the level you had been and got knocked out. What _I_ want to know is what's happening to you, Peter? You're different. You've changed."

"People change," Peter responded as he lowered his head. "But I don't know. Recently, I've been having dark thoughts in my head that were not of my own," Peter brought his hands closer to him. "Even this strange power isn't my own and I'm scared of it. I don't know what to do anymore, Tony. I've been making some decisions over the few months and I'm starting to think if I'm even the _real_ Spider Man. What am I supposed to do?"

Tony stared at the overwhelmed boy and sighed. "I can't really tell you much but you must realize what choices you are making. You have to know who's on the good side and who's on the bad side. Nevertheless, I'll remain here and analyze this little bugger and as soon as I get results, I'll inform you of them."

Peter nodded.

"Now, the break is almost over. I think you should go back to your quarters and start packing."

A few days after New Year, Peter found himself back to the University. He was feeling much better and the pain that left his abdomen. However, it only left him a headache that wasn't pleasant. Regardless, he still felt bad for yelling at Michelle; it wasn't his intention. He was changing—he couldn't deny that.

"Sooo…how was your Christmas?" Harry asked, snapping Peter out of his thoughts.

Peter snapped himself back to reality as he stared at Harry. He slightly winced at the events and stammered.

"Um…good," Peter muttered.

Harry made a flat face. "You know you can't hide anything from me. Is it good or is it eventful?"

"Event—"Peter stopped in mid-sentence as he saw the newspaper of him lying on the smashed glass display stand with the headline:

 _ **NEW ENEMY LEFT SPIDER MAN ON THE BRINK OF DEATH**_

Peter scowled. "I wasn't dying! I got up in a matter of minutes. I have incredible enhanced healing ability you know."

However, he stopped as he saw the grin and a frown on Harry's face and it made Peter mutter incoherently in an angry tone.

"Whatever," he huffed.

"Want to explain it?" Harry asked.

Peter groaned. "Fine."

Regardless, Peter told Harry everything. How he met with Carnage after he stormed away, leaving Michelle's house. How Peter nearly had Carnage defeated but didn't. How he did an unspeakable move; by using a gun to end a person's life. It scared him. Whatever this Symbiote is, it wasn't doing any good. Sure it got cool powers but it changed Peter completely. And from there, Peter had dropped his guard as he realized what he was doing and that was why Carnage was able to perform that move.

Peter even told Harry that Tony was analyzing the creature that had bonded with Peter. When Peter mentioned about it, Harry gave a nod as he connected the dots with the hole that was still on the wall. As a result, Peter gave a sheepish grin.

Harry whistled once Peter finished everything; on almost every word of what Peter had said, Harry had widened his eyes. Nevertheless, Peter then asked Harry what happened after he had left Michelle's house. Harry rubbed from the back of his neck as he answered his question.

Peter felt bad for yelling at her and he honestly didn't mean to. Sighing, Peter got up.

"I guess I should go and apologize," Peter mumbled.

Harry smirked. "You bet you do."

Peter stared at him with hopeful eyes. "So um…any chance you can send her a text…?"

Harry chuckled. "Nope. Man up and do it yourself."

Peter groaned. "You're so mean."

And the rest of the evening had passed amicably—other than with Michelle—for both of them. Peter repeatedly checked his phone for the text while Harry was reassuring his friend that Michelle would eventually drop her guard and would come back to him. Unfortunately for Peter, that didn't really do much until evening came. Frantically, Peter got out his phone and saw the text from Michelle.

"She replied!" Peter exclaimed though when he read it, he winced at the angry text he received. Harry raised an eyebrow as he stared at his friend with a grinning look. Peter glanced at the clock as he wrote back.

"I'm going to meet with her," Peter announced after a few minutes of silence.

"Now?" Harry asked, flabbergasted.

"It's only eight," Peter said, dismissing it with his hand. "I'll be back."

"Okay…"

Later, Peter met Michelle at the destination where she told Peter where to meet. Peter let out a sigh of relief as he welcomed the cool night air that had a slight breeze—something what Peter appreciated it. He needed it. As he got to the bench, he noticed that he was the first one there.

 _Huh. Too early maybe._

But his thoughts got interrupted by the familiar voice.

"I see you beat me to it."

Peter turned around and saw Michelle standing in front of him. Overjoyed, Peter was about to go toward her for a hug but he stopped himself as he noticed that there was a gap between them. His heart sank at the sight though he greeted her back.

"Yeah…I guess I'm here…" Peter replied.

An awkward silence came and it made Peter feel all jittery. It made him anxious and worried. What if she thought it was a mistake coming here? What if she thought it was a waste of time?

"I'm sorry," Peter blurted out.

He was met with a hand that was raised in the air, silencing him. Peter faltered as he stared at the ground.

Michelle dropped her hand down before she began to speak.

"I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I had been reasoning myself with what's the right way of approaching this. Until I realized that maybe it's time...maybe its time to let go of things and move on which is what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell you my background story, Peter."

Peter's breath got caught in his throat. He wasn't sure if he was feeling guilty, anxious or both. Guilty for prying into her private folders back at the Police Department. Guilty for _forcing_ her to tell her side of the story.

Or anxious that now he is finally getting to hear it and once that's done, there's no turning back.

Michelle sighed as she took note of Peter's silence.

"And when I finish, please don't judge me..." Michelle stopped Peter from talking by raising her hand up. "Let me finish. Please."

Taking a breath, Michelle began. "It happened when I was little. My dad was a great dad—the best anyone could ask for. I also had a brother but he was in the process of being an imprisoned Officer for being a part of a conspiracy but it was unknown if the tale was true at that time. As I said before, I was little so I couldn't understand what was happening back then.

It was late one night. I think it was around eleven at that time so I was already in bed, sleeping. I wasn't a very heavy sleeper. I heard the phone ring and my dad answered it and of course, I was curious as to who it was," Michelle gave a slight rough laugh.

"I listened to his conversation," she frowned as she remembered the events. "He sounded furious as I recalled but regardless, I continued to eavesdrop when I shouldn't. At that time, all I knew were 'bad guys' and 'protect'. I didn't really understood what was going on. After the phone talk, I simply froze at my spot, unable to move but by the time I snapped myself back to reality, it was too late since my dad had already saw me sitting on the staircase with wide eyes. Right there, he knew I wanted an explanation. I could remember the sympathetic look and the hesitation on my dad's face," she closed her eyes, taking a breath and reopened her eyes.

"He told me that there were some very bad men coming here and I had to hide. I didn't know what my father did at the time. I only knew the truth when I was entering Mid Towne but that part comes later. Still confused, I began to go to the basement until I stopped; I wanted to know what was going on. There were these three large bulky men who stormed down the door when my dad refused to let them in. He was on his knees, pleading for mercy but they just laughed and kicked him harshly on the face."

Michelle sighed before she continued. "I resumed being hidden as I watched with terror in my eyes as they continued to mercilessly beat on my father until he couldn't move. I had my eyes glued to the scene and the next thing I knew was that there was a loud shot. Not thinking and with tears in my eyes, I rushed towards my father which caused attention from the men. I was stopped in my tracks as they pointed a weapon at my face that killed my father. I was terrified; I couldn't move. And then, there were police men barging into the house," she frowned.

"I remember one of the policemen pulling the trigger as he shot the man who held his gun in my face in the leg. As the police were rounding up the bad guys, I cried endlessly over my dead father's body. And right there was where I met another police officer—Lucas Jones but of course back then, I didn't know who he was at that time. Nevertheless, Lucas took me in and raised me as my own. He suggested that I change my name but I refused. Coming up with another negotiation, Lucas suggested that I could keep my first name but I have to change my last name. I did so even though Lucas knew that it wasn't wise to keep the same first name but I didn't want to change it back then."

Michelle lifted her head and even though there were barely any light as to where they were standing, Peter could sense that she had cried. She clenched her fists as she spoke out the next words.

"I am the daughter of Lucas Jones, Michelle Jones but my true name is Michele Gonzales," Michelle spoke in a shaky breath.

And everything was silent.

 **Author's Notes: **Oh my God. I'm finally done her backside story! I really hope you guys liked it and it made sense; there was so much research put into this (even though there was little information about her) but at the same time, I did some plot twists as well. But seriously though; it was a pain writing this so I hope I did Justice XD and as for the name 'Michele', when I searched for Gonzales, I saw that was how they spelled the name so I went with it. Also, the fight where Carnage and Spider Man were fighting in, it was called Woolworth building so you really have to research the building in order to see where the fight was taking place. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	18. Prototypes

Chapter 18: Prototypes

The new term started for the sixth years the next morning. Nevertheless, Peter wasn't really in the mood for his classes and was tempted to skip out if it wasn't for Harry who forced him to get off his lazy ass and go. Of course, this also meant Harry asking Peter what happened between him and Michelle but all Peter had said was:

"Her story."

And from there, it left Harry to be hopelessly confused and where he assumed that the rift between him and Michelle was worse. Which was funny because Harry had thought that their friendship was getting better but wasn't.

Regardless, Peter also started to become suspicious about Harry since his mood was also changing as well.

"What's up with you?" Peter asked, suspiciously.

"Nothing," Harry grunted.

"You can I find out right?"

"Yes because that's what you're good at, isn't it? Prying into other people's lives."

Peter frowned. "Was it my fault that I stumbled upon the folder? No. So get your damn self together before I shoot my webs up your ass," he growled.

Nonetheless, the two went their separate ways and Peter joined his Chemistry Class where he was accompanied by Luke and Gwen who both greeted him and asked him how his Christmas was. As an answer, Peter merely replied 'it was eventful'.

"Hey, by the way…did you hear about Spider Man and Carnage's fight? Like woah, I think Spider Man has cut off of his fight," Luke said.

Peter frowned. He, as Spider Man, was always interested to know what other people think about him.

"What do you mean?" Peter asked.

"Well, this new enemy is a bit stronger than he is which is rather odd in my opinion," Luke responded.

Gwen snorted. "I think you're rather odd."

"No, listen," Luke insisted. "No one knows where this new enemy came from. He's a lot stronger than Spider Man which proves it difficult for Spider Man to even beat this guy. Spider Man was hanging onto his life afterwards."

While Luke may have a point, it still irritates Peter how everyone thought Spider Man almost died. He was merely caught off guard which allowed that son of a bitch to attack him.

"What if Spider Man wasn't dying?" Peter mumbled and this raised eyebrows.

"How would you know?" Luke questioned.

Peter slightly paused as he racked his brain for answer. He came up with though he wondered if they were going to buy it.

"Um…I work for the Daily Bugle and I had to go to where the action was. You know, to get pictures for Jameson," Peter lied casually and cautiously.

Gwen gasped. "Oh, Peter! Are you alright? Were you hurt during the fight?"

Peter shook his head. "Nah."

"And where is the Professor?" Gwen asked as she looked around the classroom only to find that he wasn't there.

As if on cue, the door opened which revealed a dishevelled Professor who entered into the room after closing the door.

"There he is," Peter grinned.

"Settle down. Please! There's lots of work to be done," the Professor exclaimed.

Almost instantly, the chatter died down as he went up at the front.

"Le Chatelier's Principle," he said as he wrote it on the board before turning to face the class. "Can anyone tell me what this is?"

Not being in the mood, Peter let Gwen answered the question.

"Yes, Gwen?"

"Le Chatelier's Principle or 'The Equilibrium Law'," Gwen started. "Is a principle that states if a constraint (such as a change in pressure, temperature or concentration of a reactant) is applied to a system in equilibrium, the equilibrium will shift as to tend to counteract effect of a constraint. The Principle was named after Henri Chatelier who was a French Chemist in the early 20th Century."

"Precisely."

"I don't speak French," Luke said irritably.

Peter chuckled as the Professor continued to go on with the subject. Needless to say, everyone but Gwen and Peter were hopelessly confused and lost.

"Do you understand _any_ of this?" Luke muttered as he was frantically copying down the notes.

Peter sighed. "The principle basically states that the Le Chatelier's can be used to predict the effect of a change in conditions on a chemical equilibrium," he simplified. "The conditions as to what Gwen had said were Concentration, Pressure and Temperature."

"Ohhh, I still don't get it."

Peter groaned.

"…if you were to change the conditions by increasing the concentration of A, that means that the position of equilibrium will move so that the concentration of A will decrease again - by reacting it with B which will be turned into C + D…"

The Professor then created a new equation which the students frantically copied it as they were trying to simplify its meaning in their own words. No such luck.

"And so…I want you to finish reading pages 200-205 as it contains a lot of important text for the Principle before moving on to the questions that will be at the end as well as the booklet which I'll hand it out to you."

When the Professor had finished the lecture, everyone let out a sigh of relief as they slumped back against their chairs. However, when the instructor had mentioned a booklet, everyone got on edgy nerves.

"A booklet?" Luke asked blankly as he voiced out everyone's thoughts.

"It is vital that you read the few required pages before moving on to the problems," the Professor was about walk until he paused, having a small grin. "Good luck!"

"You guys, help me," Luke moaned as the instructor handed out the booklets that were from his desk.

Peter and Gwen sighed as they knew they were gonna be extremely busy.

February had arrived and they were greeted with a cold, dreary day as the snow turned to slush, making the roads and the streets be muddy alike. Despite the changing month and the weather, this still hadn't changed Harry's mood. In fact, Peter thought it had gotten worse. He knew he wanted to find out as to why but lately, he had been so busy with other things that he didn't had the time to do so.

But whenever he got to meet Gwen again, Peter asked her if she knew why Harry was being moody. As a result, Gwen simply told him that his birthday month was coming up and that made Peter drew a blank look.

Nevertheless, Peter tried to talk to Harry but he simply brushed him off which made Peter be irritated.

Sighing, Peter decided to give up as he went to his Science Club later in the evening.

"There. After much struggling and frustrations, we had finally done it!" Michael proclaimed, showing off the gadget.

"No need for a dramatic announcement," Carter rolled his eyes as he snatched up the device.

Michael gave a small scowl.

"The device is complete. Good job, team," the Captain congratulated.

"We should give it a name," Carter said.

Michael made a thinking look. "Hmm...how about predict-attack device?"

Alex snorted. "Lame."

"How about PTS? Short for Predict Tracker Signal?" Peter suggested.

Everyone turned to face him, silence settling in before the Captain spoke.

"That actually sounds a good name. How about it?"

Everyone agreed.

"Great then! PTS is the official name for this device and it'll be here with the rest of our gadgets for anyone who wishes to use it..." the leader said as he opened a display of case which contained several of items, being in different sizes.

Once the Captain put it on the spot, Peter stared at it longingly until his phone vibrated, snapping him out of his small trance.

 _Come. It's done._

Peter stared at the text from Tony before he shoved his phone back into his pocket.

Peter started to walk until Alex caught him.

"Where are you going?" Alex questioned.

"Uh...going to um...for a walk," Peter answered stupidly.

Carter snorted. "Right."

* * *

Tony frowned as he finally managed to take a sample of the critter that was difficult to catch. While the rest of the creature was trapped in a medium -sized glass-proof, Tony had decided to take a sample of the beast which proved that it wasn't smart.

But using the weakness, Tony was able to temporarily stun the nuisance.

" _Transforming it into an entirely different element is a difficult process. It could take time, sir,"_ Jarvis spoke.

"I am aware of that but this could really help with the upcoming battles," Tony muttered as he slipped the sample into a small Petri dish.

" _I know sir. But please think through this. One wrong move and it could change everything."_

"It's already done," Tony said as he typed away on the keyboard. He sighed. "Jarvis, _please._ I can't do this alone. This suit has the chance of defeating the evil that's coming aboard. I _need_ to do this."

If robots could read looks then Tony was sure Jarvis was observing him. Tony had dark bags under his eyes from the lack of sleep. He always wore the disheveled look while his hair was untamed.

A computerized sigh was heard.

 _"As you wish, sir. But I have to warn you. It is not possible to tame a Symbiote. Even if you did there'll be a slightest miscalculation. At least 90% of the Symbiote will be uncontrolled. Also, there might be a chance of having possible side effects. Effects as in what young Mr. Parker is currently experiencing."_

"It's a risk I'm willingly to take," Tony said firmly as he locked eyes on the black curse.

He watched as how the chemicals began to take its place before finally reaching the creature who slithered at the back of the glass display, trying to get away from the metallic silver. Unfortunately, the creature was met with the chemical, giving out a horrible shriek at the unwelcoming pain.

As soon as its done, it stopped and the screech seemed to stop.

Waiting for a few minutes, Tony didn't proceeded further until he was absolutely sure it was okay to do so.

 _"New chemical created. Creature had been stabilized by 90%. Proceed at your own risk."_

A hissing sound came as smoke came out of the cylinder and Tony quickly grabbed it with tweezers so that it wouldn't escape.

Tony brought the critter closer to his suit as he stared at it.

"And now...we get to see it in action."

Tony let go of the Symbiote where it quickly got attached to the suit. Tony waited a few minutes but when nothing happened, he considered to dispose it until the critter started to sink itself into the metal, crawling and stretching itself as it was covering every inch of the red and gold metal until the easily recognized suit was gone.

 **Author's Note: **Me think Tony Stark is a bit of a mad genius...but what kind of suit is he creating? Any guesses? What happened next? Find out! Toodles!


	19. Carnage's Defeat

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Justsarahere678 for following the story. Thanks to Someone's Bastard for following the story.

* * *

Chapter 19: Carnage's Defeat

Peter pursed his lips as he stared at the old headline from a few days ago newspaper. The ' _Green Sightings'_ still kept his attention and he was still curious as to who it was underneath the mask. Of course, Harry told him to drop it as he was still refusing to believe that the 'Green Man' could be his father. Biting his lower lip, Peter put the paper away and took the new one.

There wasn't even a mention about the sightings at all. It seemed as though after Christmas, Greenie decided to go quiet which puts Peter to a stump as he has no clues about him. The only clue he ever has was the Project which the two of them had found out.

 _Project Green_.

The name seemed to ring into Peter's head.

 _I wonder if Stark's computer would know anything about Project Green,_ Peter thought.

He glanced at the clock which read _2:30pm._ He would have to be quick into getting the company before his next class. The last time he did this though, he ended up completely missing out the class and it was all the fault of the Black Cat. He scowled at the encounter though he put his finger to his lip, slightly furrowing his eyebrow as he remembered the kiss.

Peter shook his head. Now's not the time to be thinking about that. He got more important things to do.

With that, Peter scrambled out of his bed, rummaged through his closet until he found his black looking suit. He stared at it, suddenly having an ominous feeling to it but disregarded it as he put it on. It gave him new powers, made him stronger despite the fact it scared him.

It took him less than a few minutes to get at Stark and while he arrived there, he hoped that Tony wasn't there. Sure he could help him but Tony would ask a lot of questions. Besides, if all else fails and if Stark doesn't have the file, Spider Man could go to the OsCorp Company and can interrogate one of the men who would be working there.

Nevertheless, Peter stayed on his guard just to make sure he wouldn't be caught—even with the cameras. However, as he turned around a corner, he suddenly stopped as he saw shadows moving by and he quickly threw himself upwards to hide in the shadows of the ceiling.

He paused for a few minutes but turned out to be a false alert as the silhouettes didn't came his way. Eyes narrowed, Spider Man cautiously crawled around the walls until he reached the destination but during his time scaling, a thought crossed his mind.

 _Where are the guards? There's usually security guards guarding but now there isn't. What are you up to, Tony?_

Spider Man then leaped down as he stared at the unguarded door before slightly glancing to the side before having the coast is clear. This is really odd. Regardless, when Peter entered the room, it was empty. Searching around, Peter then resumed walking towards the computer and started to hack in before searching for the required file. The process bar took a while but it finally gave him a result and to his dismay, the results came up empty.

Sulking, Peter slumped his shoulders downwards until he thought up of another name.

Nothing there either.

He groaned, staring at the keyboard as though it was its own fault for coming up empty. Peter bit his lip as he came to a conclusion where he had to now break into OsCorp in order to get what he needed.

 _Great. This is gonna be fun._

* * *

Spider Man widened his eyes at the tight security OsCorp had.

 _Damn and this makes Tony's company a laughing stock. So many securities..._

So far, he had encountered turrets that would shoot laser beams but he would quickly destroy them and of course, there were the guards as well.

 _Norman sure had upgraded the protection...but why though?_

He then thought back to the battle that was taken place here and where both he and Harry had gotten hurt. The image of the flying Green Man came in.

 _If Norman's the Green guy, why would he boost up the protection? Is he trying to protect something from others or from himself?_ Peter groaned. _This is getting complicated. What are you hiding, Osborn? What dark secret have you got hidden that you can't even tell your own biological son?_

Peter grunted as he jumped off from a wall before swinging across to reach the next one. A few minutes later, he arrived at the office only to meet with a locked door.

No matter.

Spider Man began to play around with the door until he heard a _click_ sound, earning a small grin.

 _And no securities for the office..._

However, just to be sure, Peter slightly stepped in between of the entrance as he leaned against the door ledge before scanning the room.

Only two cameras from different angles. Nothing to worry about.

Quickly, Spider Man used his web rush mode to reach the first camera and he disabled it. He then did the same with the other one before he landed on the ground.

 _Done and done,_ Peter smirked.

He proceeded with the hack but it proved to be difficult as it had much tighter protection than Tony but it still, it was almost equally the same.

Peter frowned as he tried for the eighth time until he finally managed to get in, earning a small triumph of smile.

 _Booyah._

He clicked on folders on where he thought the file might be located which took about five tries to get it.

Peter quirked an eyebrow when he saw that it was protected. Sighing, he went back to hacking until he got access.

 _Now since that's out of the way...I could finally start moving forward,_ he paused. _Speaking about moving forward, wonder what's the time..._

Peter groaned as he saw the time from the computer. He was _so_ going to be late for class. If not, then he's going to miss it.

Cursing, Peter hurriedly skimmed through the files where to his surprise contained very little information. It almost felt... _empty._ Because of that, it gained questions.

Why bother making a file be so heavily guarded only to have little information? Where's the rest of it?

"...yes, I'm aware of it, sir..."

Peter widened his eyes as he heard a voice and he only had enough time to close the current before shooting himself upwards toward the ceiling. He cursed himself as he knew he was going to get caught because of the folders.

"...yes, I'll get on it straight away..."

The man got off his phone and headed towards the computer though Peter started to panic. As for the man, he stared at the screen before he quickly rushed towards it, frantically checking if everything was alright.

That's funny.

The boss would _always_ put the folders away and shut down the computer and no one was even here at this time...

Eyes widened, the man started to rush towards the door to alert the guards but before he could even exit, the entrance suddenly got shut closed and had the man's hand be tied against it.

"I'm sorry but I can't let you leave," a voice said, landing back to the ground.

The man awkwardly turned around to see the intruder and it seemed as though his breath got caught in his throat.

"Spider Man..." he replied in a raspy voice.

Spider Man stared straight into the eyes of him which made the employee flinch a bit.

"I need some info and please don't make me do this the hard way."

Peter curled his hands into fists as he felt himself being _changed_ again.

"Project Green. What is it?" he demanded.

The worker laughed a bit. "Why would I tell you about it? What's the worst thing you could do to me? We all know that you don't kill."

Peter hardened his stare. "I'm not feeling myself tonight so I'm not making any promises on how this goes," he growled as he walked up to him. "So yes. That might mean I just _might_ change my code right now."

The man widened his eyes. "You wouldn't..."

" _Watch me."_

The captive employee stared at him from the side (due to his spot) before he sighed in defeat.

"Fine. Project Green. It's what the name we had given in order to keep something secretive. Away from prying eyes. Only I and the boss himself knows it."

"That's not true. There was this other man. The one who apparently worked with Norman—your boss but he died in the accident. What happened there?"

The man locked eyes with him. "I thought you wanted to know what Project Green was."

Growling, Peter slammed his fist against the wall which made the captive slightly jump from startle.

"I need to know _everything_ in order to fully understand what Project Green is. And if you aren't talking, I have other methods to get my information."

The worker sighed. "Yes, that is correct. That other man—he was close with the boss and of course, the boss confided in him with his most secret mission. The two of them worked their ways into the wee hours, working behind the closed doors until they had finally managed to come up with a formula. The formula that allowed for the human body to be enhanced."

Spider Man widened his eyes at the sense of déjà vu. _The super-solider serum…Captain America…_

"That formula was known as the Goblin Formula and therefore because it's so confidential, the two named the project where it would be kept as a secret. Hence the name—"

"Project Green," Spider Man finished and the man gave a nod.

Peter allowed the silence to settle in as he was registering the process. Everything makes sense now. And in the end, Peter was right.

He felt his heart drop as how he thought of mentioning this to Harry. But the last time Peter tried to talk to him about it, Harry refused.

"Formula Green...but wait..." Peter drew in a breath. "Who's the one they had tested for the formula? Surely, there must be some kind of a test subject."

"There was but we wouldn't know for sure on who had been tested."

"But there were only two people, weren't there?" Peter insisted.

"Yes but if I recall, it could be either one of them. It could either be Norman or the man who worked with him."

Peter gritted his teeth as he hung his head low. He was so close onto figuring out who the Green sight was but now it seemed to slip away. Regardless, there was one question where it wasn't answered.

Peter lifted his head as he asked the question. "Who's the man who worked with Norman?"

Perhaps, Peter should've expected the answer but he didn't. It made him feel as though as all of his blood had been drained and was incredibly pale. His heart stopped beating for a brief moment as the man uttered the word.

"Dr. Mendel Stromm."

* * *

Harry frowned as he stared at his absent-minded friend. Peter had been staring at the ground over the past few minutes and needless to say, it actually bothered him. Sure, Peter would stare absent-mindedly occasionally but he would be quick to snap himself out. But now...it's different.

"Peter? Peter, snap out!"

The harsh voice of Harry had managed to finally snap Peter back to reality. He withdrew his gaze away from the floor and stared at Harry in a ghostly expression.

"What's the matter with you? You literally looked like you had seen a ghost."

Peter shook his head as he bit his lip, slightly squirming in his seat. He wondered if he could tell the data to him but it would end up in other argument and Harry might lose his trust in Peter and Peter didn't wanted that.

"You alright? You honestly look like you need to tinkle."

Peter stopped what he was doing and stared incredulously at his friend. He then cracked a silly grin as his eyes shone with amusement.

 _"Tinkle?_ Really?" Peter laughed.

"Shut up, you fool," Harry muttered.

Once the laughter died down, Peter chuckled a bit though grin never left. Oh, he was _so_ not going to let this down.

"Most people would say 'pee' or 'go to the bathroom' or _'_ to urinate'. But not tinkle," Peter giggled.

Harry quirked an eyebrow as he was really tempted to throw a book at him.

" _Anyway,"_ Harry said hastily.

Peter chuckled at the attempt of changing subject. He supposed this felt a bit better, considering all the heavy info he had gotten as Spider Man. Regardless, it feels good to laugh despite all the seriousness everything has been getting.

"I can't believe February is almost gone," Peter resumed.

"Yeah I know...it's pretty crazy, isn't it?" Harry muttered.

"Any plans for spring?" Peter asked.

Harry shrugged. "Not so much. Just hanging around the house, I guess."

"You mean, mansion," Peter grinned.

Harry smirked. "Hey, speaking about mansions, how are things with Tony?"

Peter sighed. "I guess it's alright, I suppose. I just wish Tony would interact more," he mumbled.

Harry cracked a small smile. "Give some time, Pete. I'm sure he'll come around."

"But how _much_ time?" Peter stressed out. "I keep giving out space to him because I thought he needed some personal time to himself but now I don't know anymore. Sometimes, I feel like he's pushing me away— _why_ are you staring at me like that?"

"How long have you been bottling these emotions?"

Peter stopped as he stared at the table. A small _o_ was made as he scratched his neck.

"Um...awhile, I guess?"

"Feel better?" Harry asked amused.

"Yes..."

Harry grinned as he started to get up, getting ready to go to his class.

"Nice talk. We should have more of this."

Peter rolled his eyes. "You're not my therapist."

"I could be," Harry grinned.

Shaking his head from amusement, Peter watched as how Harry walked away, being into a small figure. Nevertheless, Peter decided that he should also get ready for his own class and maybe this time, he wouldn't miss it. Speaking about the class he had missed, he supposed he should've gone to the Professor just to catch up on whatever the instructor had taught them.

Even though he had Warren, Peter would use that time to think up of ways to make fun of Warren.

Evening came and Harry and Peter found themselves in their dorms; both of them doing their homework. Well, _one_ of them.

Peter was anxiously tapping his pencil against his thigh. He stared with zoned out look into his textbook as thoughts went into his mind. Why was it necessary for Norman to create such a formula? What were the reasons behind it?

Hearing the constant _tap,_ Harry stopped what he was doing and glanced up.

"Would you stop with the tapping?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sorry."

If it was only those two who would know about it, then perhaps Peter should've went straight to Norman himself. Of course, it would be difficult getting out the answers from the big boss and he would probably plan out a trap to capture Spider Man but Peter would always be on guard…Right? Regardless, if Peter were to go straight to Norman, he would have a full background story. Not just pieces of information from a worker.

Which also comes to mind. How does that worker knows so much about the formula in the first place? Did the big boss confided in him about it?

 _Tap, tap, tap._

"Peter!"

"I'm sorry!" Peter cried out. "I can't help it. I have a lot on my mind."

"Just…stuff…" Peter responded.

Harry stared at him for a few moments before going back to his work. Peter bit his lip, having thoughts going into his mind once more. Somehow, Peter was surprised that his mind wasn't going to explode from all of this thinking. And he sure can't tell Harry that he broke into OsCorp again just to find out what his dad was working on. Harry would be upset and they had just gotten back as friends after the incident from OsCorp.

Either way, Peter would eventually have to tell him about what he did. But maybe just not now...Harry doesn't have to know right now...right?

Peter shrugged. "Trust me, Harry. It's nothing. You wouldn't really be interested in it anyway," he said as a plan to meet the big boss came into his mind.

As night eventually came and where Peter was sure that Harry fell into deep sleep, he gently tip toed on the floor as he quietly opened his closet. As he did, a slight _creak_ was heard which made him flinch. He abruptly turned to stare at Harry who didn't even made an inch and that made him let out a sigh of relief.

 _Get me caught, why don't you?_ Peter thought as he glared at it. After shuffling a few stuff around, Peter grabbed his costume and put it on him.

With that he exited out of the room, making sure that the coast was clear before making a small run and swung down the hallway.

* * *

Spider Man grunted as he was slightly shifting in his awkward spot. His legs were falling asleep as he was examining the device, figuring out how to work it out.

 _PTS...huh. How the heck do you work this thing? There's no instructions_ _that came with this thing. Guess should've asked..._

Peter slightly withdrew the item as the bright light blinked at him. Blinking, Peter got back his vision after being dazed a bit.

 _Woah this is cool..._

Peter stared at the mini map of New York. He grinned as he turned the item around and as he did, the map changed its course.

 _Nicely done. Now...how do you predict the attack...?_

He stared at it, hoping for the device to show at least some kind of signal but it didn't happen. Sighing, Peter slid it underneath the web shooter.

 _Maybe this gadget will help with my Spider senses..._

After putting it away, Spider Man began to free fall before he released his webs, grabbing them as he swung across.

He headed towards OsCorp. Funny. He thought he was done with OsCorp but guess not. There would be always something going on behind the closed doors.

Spider Man released another pair of webs before sirens that were wailing from the distance grabbed his attention.

 _Aww come on..._

Grumbling, Spider Man turned to the opposite direction, following the vehicles. He landed on the rails of the fire escape staircase as he gazed ahead, frowning.

 _Well so much for the gadget. Shouldn't I feel it vibrate or something?_

Spider Man followed the direction the cars were headed until they stopped, having Peter stare down below before heading down.

Upon arrival, Peter saw there were multiple police, all armed with weapons that were pointing at the front entrance.

"Everyone hold your fire until I say so!" Stacy commanded.

"What's happening?" Spider Man asked once he joined them.

"We got an unknown threat coming from this place. We don't know who or what it is but it led us here," Stacy answered.

Spider Man narrowed his eyes. "At this time of night?"

"Guess so."

"I'll go in and see what's up."

"Be careful," Stacy shouted as Peter had already disappeared out of sight.

 _Why would the bad guy randomly call at this time of night? Yeah, there's always stuff happening in the middle of the night but its either mugging or other stuff,_ Peter thought as he crawled through the darkness.

He paused for a bit until he gradually made it to the center of the building. He then released all of the webs at once before he started to feel for the vibration.

Nothing.

 _Weird. And my senses aren't picking up anything..._

Fiddling with his web shooter, Peter took out the gadget from underneath only to have nothing on it.

 _Is this thing dead?_

Sighing, Peter stuffed it back in its place.

 _Guess I should've suggest some sort of tracers for radio signal or something..._

Nevertheless, Peter went to search the mall but not thoroughly. He only went through the ones where he thought it might be an obvious choice.

 _Nothing and no one is in here. I'm starting to think that this is a-_

Without a warning, something was about to collide with Peter which made him lose his grip from the webs. He flipped through the air, avoiding the blow and released his webs and swung himself around.

"Woah, what was that?" Peter wondered out loud.

 _"Stupid...stupid...fool. Still think he has the ability to fight us..."_ the voice hissed, making Peter froze in his spot.

"Carnage," Peter snarled. "I should've known it would be you. What do you want?"

The dark voice chuckled. _"Should've killed me when you had the chance but you had to go and play the hero. But now…you're going to die here."_

And then the lights went out which made Peter be a bit anxious. However, he stopped as he closed his eyes, trying to listen to the sound that was surrounding him. He opened his eyes and blindly grabbed the nearest object with his webs and he twirled it around only to hear a _smash_. Something told him he didn't got the attacker.

 _Damn_ , Peter growled as he narrowed his eyes.

" _How can you fight us if you can't see us?"_

Peter paused, staring into nothingness.

"I don't need to see you," Peter called out. "If you weren't so scared of me, you would fight me like a man instead of running away."

Carnage laughed. " _Scared? Of you? Please. I beat you last time. I can do it again!"_

Peter avoided the attacks as best as he could though sometimes he was a bit difficult but so far, he was doing alright. But during the fights, though, he was processing the information of what he had learned about this guy. He wondered if he could get through him…

"You know," Peter called out. "In some ways, I can relate to you," he started. "Minus the whole killing part," he muttered. "We both had a rough childhood though yours more demented than mine. But it doesn't have to be this way, Carnage."

" _You don't know anything about us. You never killed and you never will. You didn't had the guts to kill us when you had the chance. Why change things now?"_

There was a pause.

" _Tell me, Spider Man. Do you know what's like to kill someone? It releases the dark side which you never knew you had. You forget reality for just a brief second and then the more you do it, the more you get addicted to it. I never really cared much for my family…"_ he hissed. _"They were such a nuisance to me so I killed my grandmother and my mother along with her annoying dog."_

"You're sick," Peter said angrily as he clenched his fists. "How can you kill the people who loved you? Who gave you birth?"

" _They didn't love me!"_ he exclaimed, eyes wide. _"Overtime, I was sent to St. Estes Home of Boys so tell me, Spider Man. Is that love? What kind of parents sent their son to a damn orphanage?"_

"They wouldn't if only you didn't killed them."

" _After a while, an accident came to that damn place,"_ a chuckle was heard which made Peter be tense.

Somehow this accident wasn't an 'accident' at all.

" _The fire started, taking everything with it. I escaped and didn't looked back at all."_

"You caused the fire, didn't you? It wasn't a coincidence. You wanted it to be destroyed."

" _Oh yes. Spare me the sob story,"_ Carnage faked the sadness.

Peter stared at the darkness. He has to attack sooner or later but maybe just not now.

" _Nevertheless, time went on and soon I started to become famous on TV from my killing spree. I killed more than eleven people,_ " his eyes glinted from madness and there was a sense of pride in him as though that was the greatest accomplishment he had ever done. _"I soon started to develop my own name after I spend some time in prison."_

"And now you go by as Carnage," Peter finished it for him.

" _Yes…_ " he hissed. _"But now…you must understand Spider Man why I had to all of this…why I had to_ kill _people. I had to do it to survive…"_

"But that gained you nothing. It just made you go against the laws."

Carnage laughed, a nasty one. " _Laws are only words and now…those who are with the laws must be killed!"_

Like that, Peter managed to narrowly avoid the oncoming attack. He grunted when he slightly slammed his back against the wall but it wasn't rough. Guess he should've attacked when he had the chance but the darkness was getting to him. .

 _It's now or never,_ Peter thought.

"But it doesn't have to be this way," Peter shouted as he anxiously avoided the blows. "I can help you! You can change. You don't have to be what you are now. We all had rough childhoods but that shouldn't bother you. It doesn't have to control you."

For the briefest moment, the lights started to flicker.

" _Shut up!"_

Peter avoided the oncoming attack and the object crashed into the wall. Sighing, Peter started to plan another idea and he began to use the darkness as he advantage rather than disadvantage. He quickly began to swing around the room, releasing his webs.

 _If I'm right…there should be a switch right about here…_

However, Peter paused a bit, closing his eyes as he only focused nothing but the movements that would go around. When he was absolutely sure, as the silence settled in, Peter opened his eyes and in a swift motion, he turned around, turning the lights back on.

Peter saw that Carnage ended up being tangled in the webs but he didn't do anything when Carnage ripped them apart, setting himself free. As Carnage turned around, he stared with wide eyes as he saw Spider Man with his hand extended out as though waiting for Carnage to take it.

" _Why?"_ the killer asked.

"When I have been giving this power, it gave me a new sense of responsibility—something what I hadn't seen before. It gave me a whole new perspective. You can do it too. I can only guide you but the rest, it'll have to be on you."

Peter could've sworn he saw Carnage slightly dropping his guard but it quickly came back up. He was fighting with himself, being confused. Nonetheless, Carnage growled and he charged at Peter who stood still and he was met with a tight grip around his neck, being choked.

" _NO!"_ Carnage snarled. _"You're trying to trick me. No one's ever this nice. There's always a catch! You can't change anyone!"_

"I'm…not…trying to trick…you," Peter gasped, feeling the lack of oxygen leaving him. His vision was fading away. "I'm _trying_ to help _you_. Don't you want…to have a…normal life…?"

" _I never had a normal life to begin with. Being a human is so primitive. When I bonded with this…creature, it gave me a fresh view, enlightening my horizon."_

"Not everything is about power. Power isn't worth it…you can be so much _more…_ than you are right now."

Carnage suddenly backed away, dropping Peter who fell to the floor, gasping for breaths. Slowly, the critter that bonded with the killer slightly started to lose its grip on him and for a short moment, Spider Man was able to see the human form of Cletus. Using this chance, Peter scrambled up and delivered the final blow to his head, forcing him to fall to the floor.

" _You…You lied to me…"_ Cletus spoke in a raspy breath.

Spider Man stared at him with a hard gaze. "No. Everything I've said was the truth. It was you who disregarded your actions which led you to your defeat. You're too consumed by hatred and anger and you know the funny part? Even after your killing spree and your murderous personality, I _still_ would've saved you."

Carnage blinked before his grin was stretched from ear to ear. He gave out a short laugh before it was uncontrollable.

"You know? That _is_ pretty funny!" he laughed, insanely as the police came into the room and dragged him away. His dark loud laugh was still echoing.

 **Author's Note: **My God. I finally got it done. I'm sorry for not posting but I got stuck with this and it dragged on forever. And you know…I feel kinda bad for Cletus in a way…even though he was a serial killer, not right in the head, he had a rough childhood ;-; but what happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	20. Tony Stark's Request

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 20: Tony Stark's Request

Tony stared at the screen that had the unusual DNA he had ever seen. He couldn't believe Peter had been so careless as to actually bond with this…thing. Whether it was willingly or unintentionally, he didn't know and he hoped that whenever the kid comes, Tony would get some answers.

And speaking about that kid, where was he? Usually, Peter would instantly come here the minute Tony sends him a message. It wasn't like for him to not show up. Maybe something happened to him? Regardless, Tony hoped that he would eventually show up so he could give him the results and some explanations he was seeking since as of now, Peter as Spider Man wasn't looking good. His reputation suddenly went down.

"Sir, the prototype stage is almost done. The suit's almost done," Happy's voice came, snapping Tony out of his thoughts.

"Sorry? Oh, right. Okay, I'll take a look at it later," Tony replied and with a short nod, Happy walked away.

Tony trailed his eyes down to the group of scattered newspapers that were spread around the table.

 _ **SPIDER MAN ON THE EDGE OF DEATH!**_

 _It seemed as though Spider Man isn't all that invincible as we were led to believe. The new sudden enemy is much stronger than our own Spidey. The battle was brutal and it nearly left Spider Man in a brutal condition… (ctd. page 2, column 5)_

And there were other ones that were more concerning with the appearances.

 _ **NEW COSTUME? SPIDEY GETS AN UPGRADE!**_

 _Has our Spidey changed? It seemed so since the citizens have spotted that Spider Man received a new suit! And this one looks killer! Instead of the usual blue and red the people had all come to love, the new costume now contains black with a large white spider at the front (ctd. page 3, column 2)_

The other paper laid beside with the rest of them. This one bore the headline:

 _ **THE SERIAL KILLER THAT HAS BEEN SET LOOSE IS NOW BEHIND BARS!**_

 _Perhaps one of the most brutal murderers New York has ever seen is now behind bars, thanks to Spider Man. While the streets are safe, the police are still urging the citizens to walk with caution. Even though the serial killer is in jail, who knows what other sorts of madmen might be released on the streets of New York. The killer now known as Carnage but his human name is Cletus Kasady—_

The rest was covered by the other newspapers that were lying around the table.

Something about that black costume unnerved Tony and he hoped that Peter would come to his senses and see that there was nothing good about that suit. But despite all the battles Peter would win, Tony is more concerned on how much more can he take on being the hero? It's too much pressure for such a young boy to have and it seems as though the enemies have been slightly active lately.

Just how much more can Peter take?

He would eventually collapse and Tony couldn't bear to see that. His eyes trailed to the newspaper that was buried with all the other ones. He moved his hand towards it and grabbed it as the headline grabbed his eye:

 _ **THE CAT BURGLAR: BLACK CAT HAS BEEN SENT TO JAIL**_

 _A not so much of a threat Black Cat gathered herself at the St. Gabriel's Bank but it wasn't until then that Spidey stepped in and captured_ _—_

Tony stared into the article as he saw the picture of Black Cat. In all honesty, she didn't really pose as a real threat compare to all the other ones they had so far. She was just a common thief, wanting some loot. A sudden thought came to mind as he stared at the picture of Black Cat. He gave a thoughtful look before placing the paper back on the table and got out of the chair.

It's a long shot but he'll just have to make it happen.

* * *

"And here it is: Cell number 23. I don't know why you wanted this one. The gal's a bit of a lunatic" the guard spoke, blinking while staring at the red and gold machine. He then lowered his voice.

"Not right in the head."

"I can still hear you, you know that right?" a dry voice announced. The two turned their attention at the cell before the figure fully came into the view.

The woman tilted her head to the side with an annoyed look on her face, flickering her eyes to Iron Man while completely ignoring the guard. Her silvery white haired framed her features while her black outfit hugged her body, showing the curves she had. She made a disapproved look, scowling at the visitor.

"What are you doing here?" Black Cat hissed.

Tony turned his face to the guard, nodding at him. "I'll take it from here. Trust me: she won't be a problem."

Black Cat laughed harshly. "It's not me who should be worried about."

The guard stared at the prisoner with a hesitant look. "Are you sure?"

Iron Man nodded. "Trust me."

Sighing, the guard nodded as he adjusted his belt. "Well, I'll be returning to my post," he said and he glowered at Black Cat. "You behave now."

"No promises, sweetie," she winked as the guard rolled his eyes before walking away.

Once the guard was out of sight, Black Cat gave a hard stare at the billionaire.

"Well?" she asked impatiently with arms crossed over her chest. "You haven't answered my question."

Iron Man glanced at the hall where the guard disappeared too before he spoke.

"I need a favor from you," he spoke.

Black Cat gave him a distrusting look as she was staring into the eyes of the mask where his real eyes were hidden.

"And why should I help you? You have done nothing for me so I don't owe you anything," Black Cat chuckled darkly. "And if you really want me to do something for you then you really have to go beyond."

Eyes narrowed, Iron Man turned to face the camera before aiming it at the cable to cut off the connection. This intrigued Black Cat as she was being curious as to what he was going to do next and her thought had been answered when Iron Man shot a beam of his repulsor at the lock which stunned Felicia.

She gaped at the man, wondering why he had done that.

"Now, do I have your trust?" he asked at the speechless woman.

"Are you dumb? Why would you release me? I'm a _criminal_ , remember?" Black Cat pointed it out. "Gee, you really must be going mad."

Iron Man rolled his eyes. "You're a simple thief. You're no threat and besides, if you do anything too great of a harm, you can be sure that you'll go back here in a blink of an eye so I suggest you thread carefully, Felicia."

"It's Black Cat to you," Black Cat interjected. "Just because you set me free, it doesn't mean that you're good on my list and I suppose I could your favor…depending what it is."

"Well, Hardy," Iron Man began as he ignored the irritated look from her. "I'm sensing that you feel something sinister is heading this way. New York—the world—isn't safe. Something big is coming."

"Yes, I felt that too. That dark presence that lurks in the background, waiting to escape. It's unnerving, needless to say but I'm sure Iron Daddy and Spidey Boy will save the day like they always do."

Iron Man took a breath. "The other day—a few days ago—did…Spider Man seemed off to you? When you were battling him?"

Black Cat gave a thoughtful look as she went back to that day, recalling the battle. It was honestly a fun battle, needless to say. She quite enjoyed it especially with that kiss. Speaking about the kiss, Spider Man wasn't that great of a kisser quite frankly.

"As Spidey ever dated before? No offense to him or anything but he's a terrible kisser. No wonder he's a loner—a kiss like that would make a girl run away from him. He's gotta fix on that."

Iron Man stared blankly at her, flabbergasted. "What?"

Black Cat blinked, feigning an innocent look. "Oh I'm sorry. Was that supposed to be confidential? Judging by your confused tone, I'm guessing Spidey hasn't told you about our…encounter," she purred, giving him a sly grin. "It's alright, Iron Daddy. It wasn't too serious; just a peck."

If Tony hadn't wore his mask, Black Cat would see the hopelessness that was on his face. A kiss? Peter hadn't told him that. Now that Black Cat had mentioned about it, what other things Peter hadn't told him?

"Uh…" Iron Man cleared his throat, suddenly being awkward. "Other than that…did he seem strange to you?"

"Oh you mean that way," Black Cat grinned, taking in the satisfaction of Iron Man being awkward. "Well, to be honest, yeah he did seemed a bit strange. He wasn't his usual spunky self. Well he was but he felt a bit cold and incredibly _strong_. Had he been working out lately?"

Iron Man stood there stiffly as he was trying to focus on his goal. God, was this the length he had to go to in order to do what he needed?

Sheesh. Women.

"Focus," Iron Man grunted, displeased as to how this conversation had went.

Black Cat rolled her eyes. "There isn't much to say, tin man. All I could felt was him being cold and incredibly stronger. That's all," she paused. "Does this favor has to do with Spidey?"

Iron Man sighed. "Yes. You see…I'm…actually concerned for him. He's gone through so much, suffering loses as he's on his way in becoming the hero this city desperately needs."

"Well, there's you."

"Yes but I'm not going to be here forever. I'm growing old and—"

"And if you're gone, who's gonna look after the boy? Spare me the sob story. I've heard it before and if you're gone, you want to have someone to look after him, isn't that right?" Black Cat finished his thoughts. "And that's where I come in, right? You want me to be a babysitter."

"Well not a babysitter. It's just to keep an eye on him from a far distance. To make sure he's doing alright," Tony said.

"Forget it," Black Cat snapped. "I'm not some babysitter. I don't want spend the rest of my life, watching over a kid who's too reckless for his own good. If you're so worried about your Golden Boy then go grab someone else. What about the other Avengers?"

Iron Man sighed. "Things are a bit…complicated between me and them. Please, Felicia—Black Cat. You're the only one where I know who's not a complete psycho."

"Why thank you for that compliment," Black Cat said dryly. She glared daggers at the man and if it weren't for the mask, she would've seen the helplessness on his face, being desperate. This wasn't like the Iron Man she knew but if this boy really means this much to him…

She sighed, trailing her eyes to the floor though she frowned. Losses? Iron Man had mentioned about the losses of Spidey so who were they? And why would it affect Spider Man so much?

The silver-white haired woman groaned as she came to an answer. Why was she doing this again?

"Fine," Black Cat said curtly. "I'll protect your precious boy but what's in it for me?"

Obviously, this was coming. There was no way Black Cat would do this as a 'kind gesture'. If she were to do the favor then there must be something in return for her.

"Freedom all you want. I'll clear all of the charges. You can go back to whatever you're doing under the condition that you are to not cause any real damage to any citizen or the city itself, understood?"

"Yeah, yeah, done deal," Black Cat said as she stretched her arms up as though she had been sitting for a long time during this talk.

Irritated that she was not being serious as he wanted her to be, Iron Man repeated again; this time, more sharply.

" _Understood?"_

Black Cat peered from the side of her stretched arm, studying the empty look that was given by the mask. She slightly raised one of her eyebrows, dropping down her arms.

She slightly chuckled. "Keep your friends close but keep your enemies closer, right?" she said while gazing into the white eyes, suddenly being serious. "You have my word."

Iron Man gave a short nod. "Thank you. Now, you might want to get out of here while you can."

"How are you going to explain the empty cell to the guard?" Black Cat asked.

"Don't worry about it. I'll think of something."

Black Cat. "Whatever. You're Iron Man, right? You should know what you're doing," she then paused even though her back was now facing him so that shadows were slightly covering her figure. "And congratulations on winning the case for the boy Parker. I suppose you earned it."

With that, Black Cat gave a one last stare at him before she leaped away, pouncing towards the wall from the side and back on the ground before she disappeared, out of sight as she was taking in at this new profound freedom she just gained.

 **Author's Note: **Woah…did I really dedicated a whole chapter to Tony and Felicia?! WOAH! I honestly love Black Cat and you can be assured that she's coming back! Especially in Book seven! But I loved the part where she mentioned about the kiss XD not so smooth, Hardy XP but why oh why would Iron Man EVER trust Black Cat to do this job? Has he really gone bonkers? What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	21. Darkest Hours

**Shout Outs: **Thanks to loverofbooks14 for favoring and reviewing the story. Thanks to totallynotachicken for reviewing the story.

PS: totallynotachicken: I love your username XD

* * *

Chapter 21: Darkest Hours

 _Man, this suit is awesome!_ Peter exclaimed as he was swinging throughout the city.

 _ **I'm glad we are able to make Peter Parker happy.**_

 _'We'?_

 _ **It is our talk of speech.**_

 _I see..._

Regardless, Peter resumed his swinging until he reached his dorm where he climbed through the window. He tip toed ever so silently as he was taking off his suit, ready to hit the bed since he was exhausted. But as he was about to go to his bed, he got stopped, frozen in his tracks.

"Don't think I didn't notice you disappear."

Peter whirled around, seeing Harry staring at him.

"Uh...hi..." Peter flashed him a quick smile.

Harry shook his head before he spoke again. "I'll see you later."

"Bye..."

Peter flopped onto his bed, suddenly feeling drowsy.

 _I'm so tired..._

 _ **Then sleep, Peter Parker. When you wake up, we'll take care of you.**_

 _What do you...?_

 _ **Sleep.**_

Just like that, Peter drifted off into an endless sleep.

* * *

He didn't know how long he slept but all of a sudden, Peter was meet with a harsh shake followed by an annoyed demanding voice.

"Wake up...Wake up, Peter. Damn it," Harry cursed, shaking his friend once more.

Peter fluttered his eyes open only to see a blurry vision of Harry who looked...angry?

"Harry...?" Peter slurred.

"What's wrong with you? I expected you went to class but I found out that you're still here. You've slept through an _entire_ day, Pete."

Peter stared at him blankly, trying to process what Harry was saying. But the last words " _entire day"_ seemed to have echoed into Peter's mind, having him widening his eyes.

"WHAT?" Peter nearly screamed.

Harry jumped from the unexpected shout, giving him a disapproved look afterwards.

"What time is it now?" Peter asked frantically.

"Um...just a wee bit over. It's 8pm," Harry answered.

Stressing out, Peter began to mutter incoherently as he paced around the room.

"What do you mean I've slept an _entire_ day?" he panicked. "I've missed my classes?! Oh my God...Tony's gonna kill me."

"Get a hold of yourself!" Harry suddenly exploded, startling Peter right on the stop and it instantly made him go quiet. "Listen, it may not be that big of a bad deal—okay, maybe it is," Harry said hurriedly as he saw the glare. "But you could go back to the classes you were supposed to have and talk to the Professors what you had to do, alright?"

Peter nodded mutely as he was staring at the ground with wide eyes, still trying to process what had happened. He had _never_ had this happen before. He must've been very tired if he were to miss the classes. Regardless, Peter stumbled towards the door, opening it and closing it. Peter quickly walked down the hallway, hoping to find his professors. If not, he's kind of screwed. Of course, he could text Gwen as to what he had learned but that would only solve one of his problems…

"Well, look what the cat dragged in," a sudden voice announced.

Peter stopped walking upon hearing the voice and he turned around, giving out an annoyed sigh.

"Brock," Peter said as he narrowed his eyes. "Haven't heard you in a long time. I would've thought you got kicked out of campus."

Brock sneered. "Aren't you snarky? You see, I came to check up on an old friend."

Peter scoffed. "We're not old friends," he said through gritted teeth, clenching his fists.

 _ **We sense a threatening presence…Peter Parker does not like him. Destroy him…**_

 _NO! I don't hurt people. That's not my job. I don't kill people._

 _ **But Spider Man does.**_

 _It's different. Spider Man stops criminals. Brock's not a criminal. Spider Man does not will he ever_ kill.

"You know, Brock? I don't have time for this as I'm not in the mood so you can buzz off," Peter growled and he turned on his heels, starting to walk away though Brock hardened his stare.

"I'm not done with you!" Brock snarled, grabbing Peter by the back of his shirt, twirling him around so that he faced Brock face to face and he rammed him against the wall, picking him up by the scruff of his shirt.

"Listen: there's something fishy about you and I intend to find out what it is," Brock threatened.

 _ **Peter Parker must destroy him…**_

 _I said no._

"Oh yeah? You have no proof. What are you going to do if you _did_ find out…whatever you're going to find out?" Peter challenged him.

Brock growled. "You think you're wise, do you?"

"Uh obviously. Now let me go and I promise you I won't send you to the hospital."

Peter slightly widened his eyes. He would never say these things...

Brock scoffed a bit. "Whatever. You're just a runt. Always a runt," he replied angrily and he let go off the shirt.

Peter pushed him out of the way, giving him a one nasty look before he walked further down the hallway until Brock could no longer see him.

* * *

"What was that about?!" Peter exclaimed.

After the mishap with Eddie, Peter completely changed his directions and headed for the bathroom instead; in all honesty, he no longer cares about the classes as of now though he was more worried about what had happened with Brock.

 _ **We only wanted to help Peter Parker. He did not seem to like the Brock.**_

"That does _not_ give you the right to change my chain if thoughts. Peter Parker and Spider Man do not _kill. Ever._ Understood?"

 _ **We are sorry, Peter. We only wanted what was best for Peter.**_

"Well, don't. I decide for _myself_ , alright? Man, I don't have time for this," Peter muttered as he placed both of his hands on the edge of the sink counter, gripping it until his knuckles went white.

"I need some air..." Peter muttered.

 _ **Would you like for us to change your current clothes? We can change it to your preferred suit**_.

"Huh? You can do that? Why haven't you done that before?" Peter asked.

He was lucky there weren't any people in the boys' bathroom. Otherwise, he would have to explain this...situation.

 _ **You always seem to grab your suit. You never asked us...**_

"Ah...um...yeah...I guess you could change my clothes..." Peter said awkwardly.

At once, the strange creature changed his clothes and Peter shivered from the discomfort of the silkiness that sunk into his skin.

Peter stared at the suit-the slightly grey silvery outfit that was a tight for him. However, when wore the black one, it looked more...spectacular.

"Any chance you can change it to black...?"

 _ **Of course...**_

After changing the color and getting out of the bathroom, Spider Man zipped into the city, overlooking at the amazing view the city had displayed.

Thousands of cars, all coming from different directions, were driving by as the lights shone brighter than ever. New York truly is the City that Never Sleeps.

 _Woah_ Peter thought, staring at the incredible scene once he perched himself on top of a building. He got immersed by the view that he got lost in it.

He settled himself on top of the building in a comfortable way. As he was gazing, a thought came into his mind.

He had been bonding with this creature not too long ago and yet, it never crossed his mind to even learn about it, let alone have the critter to tell its story. If he wants to understand this creature then its best to start with origins.

 _So...you guys haven't exactly told me where you came from. What are your origins?_

 _ **Peter Parker is curious about us and we are glad but we feel that it is not the time to tell. Not yet. Peter Parker will soon learn more about it...**_ the haunting voice crooned.

Defeated, Spider Man slumped his shoulders forward as he leaned back against the pole that was planted on the roof. But hold on...

Wasn't there something he was supposed to do as well?

Not just going back to ask the Professors even though Peter dropped the idea of it a while ago; it seemed useless anyway and it was probably past nine so the instructors obviously wouldn't be there. Spider Man untangled himself as he stared with wide eyes at the view, suddenly remembering what he was supposed to do.

Tony had sent him a text, indicating that the analysis had been completed. But, he had been so darn busy which made him forget about it.

 _Ah, damn. I forgot to visit Tony!_

As Spider Man started to leave, a siren could be heard, wailing in the distance.

"Man, really?" Peter groaned.

 _ **Forget about it…we have been working hard…we can ignore it…**_

 _But it's not right_ , Peter insisted. _Spider Man saves people._

Growling, Spider Man narrowed his eyes and he swooped into the city a second after, following the siren that was seen up ahead. He easily beat them though he ended up being in a dark, deserted alley way.

 _Alley ways…I hate them so much._

 _ **Peter Parker is afraid of alley ways…**_

 _Nono. Not afraid. I just don't…like them._

 _ **It's okay to be afraid…We can make it better.**_

But as Spider Man continued to walk through it, he sensed his spider senses buzzing on just as the voice called out.

 _And speak of the trouble…_

"Stand right where you are," a voice said from the shadows.

Peter stopped walking and he turned around only to see the figure though he couldn't really his features since he was hiding in the shadows which covered him. However, Peter was able to tell that the person was a man due to the deep voice. Regardless, the man then came out of the shadows though it still didn't really help Spider Man to identify him as the thug was wearing all black for camouflaging. Nevertheless, a gun was pointed at Spider Man.

"You really want to pick a fight on _me_?" Spider Man growled dangerously, taking a step forward. "Only a fool would think about it."

 _ **He is threatening Peter Parker…He must be destroyed!**_

 _I told you before! I don't kill people. That's a final!_

"Listen: you really don't want to do this and I'm feeling generous today," Spider Man began. "That being said, I'm giving you a second chance to start fresh. Put the gun down; you don't want to do this."

"Shut up!" the man growled and he fired the gun though Spider Man dodged it.

Spider Man sighed. "This is going to be hard. You really like to pick on my nerves, do you?"

 _ **The Challenger…is showing no mercy to Spider Man. If Spider Man won't fight then we will…**_

 _Fight…? Wait, what do you—?_

 _ **It'll be alright, Spider Man. We will take care of it…**_

 _What, no. NO!_

Spider Man grunted as he slightly crouched down, placing his hands at the side of his head and he thrashed around, stumbling backwards though he gave a harsh ram against the wall.

"Get away from me!" Spider Man screamed. "I said stop! STOP RIGHT NOW!"

Terrified, the man started to shoot at Spider Man but he was luckily to be able to avoid them. However, the shooting stopped and it made Peter slink back in the shadows, giving off a sinister aura even more.

Spider Man chuckled darkly and he dragged himself out of the shadows as he spoke in a voice that was not his own.

" _ **We told you to lower your weapons…we tried to give you mercy but you neglected it…"**_

The man widened his eyes. "What the hell? Spider Man?"

" _ **You'll be sorry…"**_

And then, just like that, Spider Man grabbed the gun and bend it, having it no longer functional. The man gaped at the incredible strength. He knew Spider Man had an incredible strength but seeing it in person was amazing. Terrifying but amazing.

"Stay the hell away from me!"

" _ **You were warned…but now your shouts will be silenced!"**_

Spider Man punched the man right on the nose so that a loud _crack_ was heard. Something was definitely broken alright and it earned the man to give out an exclaim of shout as he stumbled backwards, clutching his bloody nose.

"My nose! You broke my damn nose! You're gonna pay for that, you freak!"

The thug started to deliver a punch but Peter simply grabbed his hand and twisted it, hearing yet another sickening _crack_. The man screamed from the pain though he barely had the time to compose himself since Spider Man grabbed his shirt and threw the criminal across the wall, hard enough so that the wall collapsed from the impact.

Frightened, the robber scrambled backwards with his good arm as Spider Man walked through the rubbles.

"No…no…GET AWAY FROM ME! GET AWAY!"

Spider Man rushed towards the man in a blur, easily catching up to him and he wrapped up the man in webs against another wall, beginning to punch him at the ribs.

" _ **By our count, there's still nine more ribs we can still break."**_

The man howled at the crack and his eyes watered from the pain and the next thing, he knew he was ripped from the wall and got thrown down to the ground like a ragged doll. Spider Man punched him in the face until the thug's face and Peter's hands were bloody.

"Stop! I'm…begging you…!"

Taking heavy breaths, Peter delivered the final blow by taking the man's head and smashed it against the ground, hearing a _crack_ which made him go unconsciousness. The once black eyes were now turned to his regular hazel eyes as the sirens were now heard, having the blaring lights go onto the scene and it made Spider Man lift his bloody hands up.

"Stay right where you are and don't move!" the police commanded, coming into the view.

 _Ungh…what happened…?_ Peter thought as he tried to have his focus though the lights were too blinding.

As the police went further in, he widened his eyes at the scene with a shock look on his face.

"Spider Man?!"

 **Author's Notes:** Ohhh snap! Spider Man got busted BUT…it wasn't 'him' though the police don't know that…damn, this is going to get messy. How will Spidey get out of this? What'll Tony think of this!? What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	22. The Unknown Villain

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story. Thanks to Dulcecitath for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 22: The Unknown Villain

"Spider Man?!"

Spider Man lifted his hand, trying to block the glaring lights with his hand.

"Oh my God. What did you do to him?" the officer asked, stunned.

"What? What do you mean…?" Peter had his eyes trail down only to see the result. And his answer. It made his throat go dry, eyes wide with shock while his hands were being shaky. Speechless, Peter stared at the knocked out man and he forced himself to get up, going away from the thug.

"Oh my God," Peter finally uttered. He felt sick. Wanted to throw up. Still staring with wide eyes, Peter looked at the officer with the most pleading look he had ever mustered. "Officer…I swear…" Peter took in a sharp breath as his voice was being shaky. "I… _swear_ …I swear on my life I didn't do it. I don't kill…I swear."

The officer drew in a sharp breath as he advanced forward, still holding the gun. "I'm sorry, Spider Man but I'm going to have to bring you in."

Giving him an incredulous look, Peter backed up as the police kept going forward. Doing the only thing he could do, Peter released his webs and swung from out of sight, still paralyzed as to what just happened while his webs were being drowned with blood from his hands.

* * *

Gasping, Peter stumbled forward as he entered the dorm, not even realizing that he was probably disturbing Harry from his sleep.

What just happened? How was he covered in blood?

Eyes being blurry from tears, Peter stumbled into the bathroom and turned on the lights, shutting the door with his foot as he turned on the faucet. He took off his mask and shakily, Peter brought his hands to the water and began to soak his suit with it.

At once, the tears began to flow.

"I didn't do it," Peter wept. "I didn't do it. Oh God, I didn't do it."

Sobbing, Peter tried to wash the gore from his hands as he repeatedly said "I didn't do it." Dark thoughts instantly went into his mind as flashbacks of the bloody thug went into his mind.

He wasn't moving, Peter observed before he left. The criminal just laid there, out cold.

Perhaps he was…he was…

"I didn't kill him!" Peter cried out, unaware that the door had been opened. "I didn't do it…" he bawled.

"Peter…?" Harry's soft voice rang out though the badly shaken boy didn't hear him.

Harry walked towards him only to gasp at the state of his friend. Blood were running down to the sink and his face was written with a helpless guilt and his eyes were red and puffy.

"Peter!" Harry cried out in alarm. "What happened?"

"I didn't do it!" Peter blurted it out. "I didn't do it!"

Stunned, Harry gape at him with a speechless look at the messy boy. Gasping and with eyes being blurry from the tears, Peter dragged himself towards Harry and grabbed his shirt from the bottom so that Harry's shirt was now slightly stained with blood.

"It wasn't me, I swear! Oh God, I didn't kill him!" Peter wept, devastatingly.

Hopelessly confused and scared for his friend, Harry went down on his knees as Peter brought himself closer to him. The tear stained face was now filled with more sorrow cries Peter had released. After a few overwhelmingly cries, the traumatized tried to calm himself down but he was won over from his shaky, unsteady breaths.

"Peter…?" Harry asked quietly. "What…happened…?"

Peter shook his head in refusal, not wanting to talk about it. It was too painful and he still has to take off the blood from his hands. Sighing, Harry rubbed on Peter's back as he tried to comfort him until his breaths were slightly even.

"Alright…go and change into your pyjamas, okay? You need sleep. You're obviously in no shape to talk about what happened as of today but I want you to try and to explain it to me in the morning. It's 2am right now and you're lucky that tomorrow's Saturday or otherwise, I would throw you out for disturbing my sleep," Harry jokingly replied but his attempt of cheering the boy up was futile.

Peter was still in his emotionless state; his eyes completely being empty.

Harry helped him up, walking to their room and flopping Peter onto his bed though Peter merely stared at the ground with a glazed look.

"Change," Harry replied as he threw his pjs at him. Peter still didn't move. "Please, Pete?"

Like a robot, Peter grabbed his clothes and started to change as Harry turned around to give him privacy. When it was done, Harry whirled back only to find Peter in the same state as before; looking at the ground in an expressionless state. Sighing, Harry pulled him up, removing the covers halfway before putting Peter to his bed, lifting his legs so that they were now lying on the bed instead of dangling at the edge of the bed. Harry then placed the covers halfway so that it wouldn't be too hot for Peter though at this stage, Harry doubt that he would feel his body temperature.

"Sleep, Peter. You'll feel better tomorrow in the morning…"

With that, Harry walked towards his own bed before muttering the last words.

"I hope."

Patches of bright blue sky were beginning to appear over the city as the sunlight rays filtered in, trying to get rid of the darkness that the dorms had. Peter flickered his eyes opens but instead of feeling the warmth, he felt the coldness. Not even the signs of summer lifted Peter's mood. An empty coldness. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments before he pushed himself up though he was still devoid of any emotions. Shaking, Peter lifted his hands and images from last night flashed into his mind and that made him close his fists, tightening them.

He was in such a state that he didn't even remember _going_ to bed. He may remembered going to the bathroom but to bed? Not so much.

 _ **Peter Parker…is okay?**_

Peter went mute, struggling to block the horrid voices and the images that went through his mind. But just by hearing that voice, another set of flashbacks came into his head. He felt fine before as he was heading to the troubled area last night and he recalled he tried to talk to the thug about having a second chance. That wasn't until that the _creature_ had suddenly gained control of him…

Angered, Peter yelled out in thoughts.

 _You! How dare you! I specifically told Spider Man doesn't kill! What were_ you _thinking? When I say no, I say no._

 _ **We are sorry…**_

 _Cut the crap. I'm not talking to you anymore._

 _ **But—**_

 _That's a final._

Irritated, Peter threw the covers away from him, getting up from the bed but as he was about to go to the bathroom, the newspaper got his attention. Staring at it with a cold look, Peter abruptly walked towards it and snatched the paper.

 _ **SPIDER MAN, A MURDEROUS HERO?**_

 _The citizens have always wondered what the code of Spider Man is and it led them to believe that he doesn't kill and he had always stuck by it. But as of last night, the friendly neighborhood Spider Man suddenly changed his laws. He was found beating the thug to a pulp, showing him no mercy. What caused him to change is what anyone's guesses but it only made the citizens to fear—_

Peter growled, throwing the paper away and he abruptly walked towards the bathroom though he collided into something, causing him halt in his tracks.

"How…how are you?" Harry questioned, hesitantly.

"I've had better days," Peter answered bitterly.

Staring at the boy, Harry observed him. He still showed no signs of emotions other than his tone that was filled with bitterness. Peter looked slightly better than yesterday but he was still a mess.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Harry asked quietly. He wasn't sure if Peter was in the mood to discuss about what happened yesterday but it freaked Harry out… _a lot._

" _No."_

Narrowing his eyes, Harry spoke with a firm voice. "You scared the _hell_ out of me! I'm sorry, Pete but I think I deserve to know what the hell happened last night. Why were your hands covered in blood? What did you do?"

"Have you _not_ took a look at the newspaper?" Peter shot back.

"I did but they can only tell so much! Look, I don't know any of this 'superhero' business stuff and how it works but at least tell me what's going on with you. You're not your usual perky annoying self. Please, Pete. I'm _begging_ you."

Peter stared at the floor, mutely before he lifted his head after a few seconds later, staring at him with a glazed look which made Harry be disturbed.

"It's a good thing that you're not a superhero then. You won't have what it takes to be one and leave me alone," Peter replied in a voice which ended the conversation completely.

Peter harshly shoved Harry out of the way as he headed towards the bathroom. Harry narrowed his eyes, staring at the back of Peter before the door got closed. Harry withdrew a breath before he took out his phone. If Peter won't cooperate then he has to do it this way; it's the only way to get things under control before things got too late.

Harry paused.

It already _is_ too late.

A little while later, Harry met with one of his friends at the main foyer where it was quiet since it was a Saturday and most of the people had gone outside of campus, going to Downtown was a likely guess. The weather was nice too which was a great bonus for all the days they had been cramped inside during the cold winter.

Michelle frowned, staring at Harry with a hopeless look.

"I'm sorry. What?" Michelle asked as she tried to register what Harry was saying.

Harry gave an annoyed sigh. "Honestly, I speak English. Not French. But what I said is that think you could lead me to Tony? I'm really worried about Peter and he hasn't been his usual self at all lately and last night, he completely scared the hell out of me. He was in such a mess that I wasn't even sure if Peter would have his mind back. I need to see Tony so I thought you would know where his place is or at least where Peter lives, anyway."

Michelle frowned. "This is tying to the article from the recent newspaper, is it? I thought Peter doesn't kill."

"So did I until last night."

Michelle nodded. "Alright, we can go."

Harry shook his head. "I'm sorry but this is something I have to do alone but um if you could give me the directions that would be great."

"You know this concerns me just as much it worries you too, right? Peter's my friend as well. In fact, he himself personally told me who he really was in the first place. If anything, I should go too!"

"Please, Michelle. I…I don't want you end up getting hurt as well. Peter needs to have someone at his side."

"What's so dangerous about visiting Tony?"

Harry sighed. "Nothing but just please…"

Michelle slightly scowled as she stared up at him, studying his worried features that were on his face. Michelle really did wanted to go with him as well to see if the three of them could figure what was wrong with Peter. Yet again, this was Tony Stark and when in doubt, Tony would have the answers. She sighed.

"Fine. I'll give you the directions but you better keep me updated."

It took a while since Harry had never went to the facility but he finally reached his destination and he stared at the well-designed building in awe. Peter gets to live…here? Damn, he's lucky and he probably sees the other Avengers as well. Harry would give anything to see the entire team but life plays in a funny way. Finally found the parking lot, Harry parked his car and turned off the engine. Excitement and nervousness went through him.

Nevertheless, Harry got out of the car and continued to sink in the view as much as he could. The building really was amazing and he made a mental note to ask Peter if he wanted to switch his place of living. Peter would probably refuse but it was worth a shot.

Once inside, Harry stared at the busy hallway that had people walking past by him. Gazing, Harry looked up, seeing the high ceiling and the tall walls that seemed to stretch forever even though they had been cut short. There were many different pathways, leading them wherever as sometimes the building itself had also tall windows.

"Excuse me. Exactly who are you?" a voice called out.

Harry whirled around only to see an agent, giving him a suspicious look as she crossed her arms. Behind her, there were two tall guards; both of them having a piercing look which made Harry shrink back from the gaze.

"Uh…um…an agent?" Harry offered sheepishly.

Her stern glare studied the young man's feature. There was something familiar about him but from the gaze, Harry got awkward as he wondered if she knew who he really was.

"Osborn? Harry Osborn?" the woman replied, frowning.

"Um…yeah…that's me," Harry said nervously.

Sighing, the lady motioned her head. "Come with me. We'll have the boss see about this."

"Boss?" Harry asked blankly.

No sooner or later, Harry was thrown into the room as the woman walked in a fast pace, being ahead of Harry.

"I'm not a bad guy, I swear!" Harry exclaimed, suddenly fearful for his life. "I'm a friend of Peter—"

"Harry? Is that you?"

Harry turned around only to see Tony with a confused look on his face. Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry walked towards him.

"Tony! Er…Mr. Stark."

Tony glanced at the lady and the two guards, nodding his head. "It's alright. He's with me. I know him well. You may return to your duties."

The woman pursed her lips as though having an Osborn roaming around the building didn't seem like a great idea but she didn't questioned Tony's decision. Nodding, the lady turned on her heels with the two guards following behind her. Once they were out of the room, Tony spoke again in a curious manner.

"What brings you here, Harry?"

Harry stared at Tony as though he was a complete stranger. In a way, he is. Harry hadn't actually met Tony, eye to eye and on a personal base. So seeing him, in this way was kind of…intimidating. No wonder Peter was sometimes scared of him. Standing alone, Tony emitted out a sense of power, a strong aura of authority.

"Um…I'm Harry," Harry blurted out, awkwardly.

Tony raised an eyebrow, staring at the boy with small amusement. "I know you are," he slightly chuckled. "But what is your purpose of being here? Is Peter alright?"

Harry hesitated. He had a feeling that Tony had read the recent newspaper but was trying to put on a straight face instead of giving out a dark, grave look.

"You know, Mr. Stark, no. Peter isn't alright…"

* * *

 _Alright, Norman. Time to find out if you're really are the Green Sight,_ Peter thought as he stared at the building that was up ahead.

Spider Man free fall before he released his webs, catching them and he swung himself around the city, going towards OsCorp.

But as he was halfway, his senses suddenly buzzed on which made him gain his attention.

"What?" Peter exclaimed, veering off course and planted himself on the side of the building.

 _Why did my Spider senses go off—?_

Just then, there was a sudden explosion, not too far away from him. He turned his head to the side only to widen them.

"Woah!" he yelped before quickly heading towards it.

People were panicking from the sudden blast and sirens along with fire trucks were coming into the view. But, Peter wasted no time as he blindly went through the thick smoke.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?" Spider Man yelled.

Peter flipped backwards, avoiding the fallen ceiling.

 _Gotta make this quick._

As he walked further in, a sinister laugh came which paused Peter as he slightly turned to the side.

"Hello?"

Peter looked through the thick fog at the deserted area.

"I knew I would catch your attention...Spider Man. If civilians were to be danger, _he_ would show up but oh! You're suddenly not a hero anymore..."

"Come out!" Peter demanded.

Instead of coming out, something else did. Two flying objects whirled towards Spider Man who avoided the blast that came from both sides. It was a narrow dodge but he got out regardless.

"You're going to have to do better than that," Peter called out.

 _ **We can help...**_

 _No. I don't need your help. You're not helping me ever again._

"He wants more, he says!" the voice cackled. "I shall give him more!"

The two similar objects headed straight to Peter again which made him avoid it yet again. But on the last one, there was an unexpected item and just as Spider Man's senses went off, Peter hurriedly went towards the window, crashing through just as the object went off.

The people below the building ducked down as to avoid the oncoming shards of glass that were flying down.

Before Peter could release his webs, he couldn't dodge the oncoming attack despite his senses giving him a warning. Something hard collided against him and he was struggling to get out of its grip.

Even that seemed futile since Peter felt a cold hand wrap around his neck, lifting him up so that he was met face to face with a frightening mask.

"Hello!" the voice exclaimed, cheerfully. "Aww...why so blue?"

"Who...are you...?" Spider Man gasped.

"Ah! Introductions! Delightful! Since I'm going to kill you anyway might as well get acquainted, don't you think? The name's...Green Goblin!"

There was an awkward silence other than the grunts that came from Peter as he was trying to get free.

"Aww come now. Don't be afraid. Why, we're only buddies! And do you know want buddies do? No? Well, they learn how to... _fly_."

And like that, Green Goblin dropped Spider Man and for a moment, Peter felt his heart skip a beat before he shook his head, recalling that he had web shooters.

But since he had been just released from the grip, his vision was a bit hazy and he didn't had time to clear it out. As a result, Peter blindly grabbed the webs and blindly crashed into a window which startled the few people who were inside the office room.

Peter groaned, unaware of the whispers that were roaming around. He coughed, trying to get some air in his lungs as he pushed himself up.

"What an entrance! Let's make an exit!"

Peter lifted his head in time to see Green Goblin and just as he was starting to swoop down to grab Spider Man, the web crawler quickly scrambled on his feet and he attached his webs to the machine that allowed him to fly.

"What the-?" Green Goblin widened his eyes as he started to be twirled around before being released. The villain flew across before crashing down at the floor which made the people scramble out of the way.

"Everyone, get out of here!" Spider Man shouted at the panic workers who were trying to get out.

"You were supposed to _keep_ the audiences entertain! Not have them running away. Honestly," Green Goblin shouted back. "Let's spice things up a bit."

The green machine then headed towards Spider Man and as it did, it took out two sharp daggers from both sides. Spider Man leaped over it, avoiding the blades before he shot out his webs, attaching to it before Peter threw it out at the window.

 _Well that's been taken care of._

"And now he throws out my ride..."

Frustrated, Peter swiftly got up to him and delivered blows until Green Goblin stumbled back down to the ground.

"Alright, Gobby! Who are you?" Peter demanded.

"If I told you then that's the point of losing the secret identity, isn't it?'

If he wasn't wearing the green terrifying mask, Peter would've seen the awful grin. Growling, Spider Man punched him across the face.

 _ **Let us help...we can have him talk...**_

Forgetting about Green Goblin for now, Peter shouted out.

"I said NO!" Peter yelled, earning a raised eyebrow from the enemy.

"I'm sorry?"

Peter looked down and noticed that he was still here.

"Nothing. I'm giving you one more chance and if you don't cooperate, we can take this to the roof."

The foe stared at him with his creepy beady eyes, unnerving Peter and the opponent laughed.

"Threats don't work on me, boy! You can try but you won't be getting _anything_ out of me!"

Peter growled as he was seriously thinking about letting the creature to take over.

"Fine then. You had been making appearances over a few months ago then stopped. Why?"

The villain paused as though he pretended to think.

"Well I _suppose_ I could give you the answers to that but I thought it would be obvious. Guess not," he cleared his throat. "It was the only way to make myself known, web-crawler. I knew that if I had to meet you, I would have to get out of hiding."

"Why did you want to meet me?"

"I've heard so much about you! I wanted to see what was so special about you and from there to figure out if you really _were_ the hero or just some runt in a costume. But after seeing you, I figured you were some runt in a costume after all!" he cackled.

"I didn't ask for your opinion!" Peter flared, silencing the maddening laugh.

"Oh? You didn't? Well, you got one anyway...but now Spider Man...you must understand why it is necessary to...annihilate you!"

And then, something suddenly whizzed from behind though Spider Man sensed it as he let go of Green Goblin so that he performed a back flip, dodging the bat-shaped glider.

Instead of piercing him, Green Goblin grabbed at the edge and got lifted up, flying around before swerving around.

"Catch you later, Spidey!"

With that, Green Goblin released his circular bomb which made Peter instantly take off. However, as the Green Goblin threw it, he escapee by flying through the window just as the bomb went off.

The blast caught Spider Man and he was thrown back before tumbling down to the ground roughly.

 **Author's Note:** Oohhh! Gobby makes an appearance! Personally, I loved William Devoe's portrait of the Green Goblin in Raimi's trilogy. It honestly scared me XD esp. the mask XD but man writing the beginning of the chapter made me teared up :( AND I WAS FINALLY ABLE TO UPLOAD THIS! OHMIGAWD! I was having trouble uploading it to the Doc Manager but I got it! AND ARE YOU READY FOR SUPERBOWL TODAY?! I'm betting that Patriots will win. What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	23. The One they Called Octavius

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 23: The One they Called Octavius

Dr. Otto Octavius stared at the floor, deep in thought. He knew he was going have to face the young spider ling soon but perhaps just not now. There was just so many things going on with him; the supposed murderer and now facing Green Goblin…

Otto scoffed.

As if Spider Man would _ever_ be a murderer. The citizens are so gullible, it annoyed him needless to say. They would believe in something that wasn't even true at all. There was little investigation as to what really happened with Spider Man when he was dealing with that thug. And because of that, Spider Man was on the run of the police.

Otto shook his head. He should really be careful.

He frowned as another thought came in.

While thinking about Spider Man, it made him think about his fellow teammate: Mysterio.

As his name sounds, Mysterio is…well…mysterious. For the life of him, Otto couldn't exactly figure him out and what's his backstory. Perhaps he and Mysterio could have a small talk just for no reason. Keep your friends close but your enemies closer, they would always say. He would always disappear, going wherever he needs to go which, in all honesty, made Otto be curious. Where _does_ he go all the time?

Despite his 'mysterious' personality, if there was one thing that sets him different from all the others, it would be his frightening powers. Frightening because whatever Mysterio makes, he can have the ability to make it real which will have it harder for the people to actually figure out if it was real or…just an illusion.

While his powers can be proven useful, his whole self is just confusing.

A sudden wisp of smoke materialized out of nowhere, finally snapping Otto out of his long chain of thoughts. There, inside the smoke, it was revealed to be Mysterio himself. Funny how thoughts run.

"Where have you been all this time?" Otto frowned once more.

The Illusionist merely turned his head to the side, giving a small glance to the boss.

"Had some business to take care of. Nothing important, really," Mysterio answered before he continued to walk.

As Mysterio vanished from sight, Otto just couldn't help but to think that Mysterio was hiding something. Too bad. Whatever what he was hiding, it could probably be very useful.

Sighing, Otto got off from his chair as he went towards the direction where Mysterio had headed. He supposed he should get back to his team. Pausing, a small scowl came on his face.

Sometimes, he was surrounded by idiots.

* * *

Mysterio kept his hardened stare as he walked down the hallway. He really hated that web crawler vigilante. How hard is it to catch a simple Spider?

Apparently very hard.

Sure, he had been close into actually defeating the young spider ling but then his friend had came in and ruined everything. He took the blow for Spider Man. If he hadn't, Spider Man would probably be dead right now.

Mysterio grunted.

Stupid fool.

"Well, someone's in a very deep thought or otherwise your face wouldn't be like that. Try to lighten up, will you?" a voice snapped Mysterio out of his thoughts.

Mysterio stopped walking and whirled around only to stare into the shadows with an annoyed look.

"What do you want, Dimitri? I thought you went back home or whatever you Russians do," Mysterio growled.

Dimitri rolled his eyes at the lack of culture Mysterio knew. "It wouldn't hurt to know a little bit about Russians, Mysterio dear. Then maybe, it wouldn't make you look such an idiot. Oh wait: you're already here with that thing you call a fishbowl on your head."

Mysterio snarled. "Listen you! If you weren't on our side, I would smash you into a pulp! But remind _me_ , Dimitri _dear_ , why do you fall into this plan? Might I remind you that this is only called ' _Sinister Six'_?"

"Such temper," he crooned, ignoring his insults. "Because, unlike half of you, dimwits, I think with my brain instead with my fists. I'm only here because of Kraven. Someone has to keep in check with him."

Mysterio grunted. "Lucky for us," he muttered and began to walk but got stopped again.

"Oh and do be careful. It would be terrible if something were to happen to you," Dimitri smiled gleefully.

Mysterio studied him with a darkened look. He was on Mysterio's nerves and wanted nothing more than to throw Dimitri out. Yet again, with his powers as disguise, he _could_ be proven useful.

"Just stay out of my way," Mysterio muttered.

"Alright but if the boss finds out you're working with a certain someone, you're gonna be in a big trouble!" Dimitri shouted and that made Mysterio stop.

Abruptly, Mysterio turned around and gave a deathly glare. "What do you know?" he snarled.

"Nothing," a mad gleam twinkled in his eyes. "Oh nothing much other than the fact that you're helping a certain vigilante…hmm?" Dimitri studied him before continuing. "You know…going back in _time_ to revive Mendel Stromm. That's a really stupid plan. I expected better of you."

"It wasn't my plan in the first place! It was that fool of a Spider Man's idea. And how did you know about it?"

"Ah! So you _don't_ deny that you're helping our worst enemy?"

"Answer my question!" he demanded.

"Alright," Dimitri scowled. "You see, I happened to be working with my brother and that was when I came in. I decide to pose as the young web crawler. Of course, to do that, I had to remove the mask of the vigilante in order to know the identity. Naturally, Kraven didn't approve as he didn't like 'not having honor' and things like that. And from there, as I said, I posed as Peter Parker and I just learned that idea from his friend…" he narrowed his eyes. "Why are you helping him, Mysterio? Who's side are you really on?"

Mysterio stared at him with an observing look before he turned around. "If you actually knew my battle and the story behind it, you wouldn't question my motives. I am on no one's side but my own. I am loyal only to myself."

With that, Mysterio walked away which left Dimitri in his thoughts.

* * *

"Hey boss! Haven't you seen in a long time!" Electro exclaimed.

"You idiot. He's been away for an hour," Vulture rolled his eyes.

Otto made a small disdain as he studied his group. Sure, they were cunning in their own way but in reality, they were…dumb. Or at least some of them were, anyway. He scowled when the Vulture and Electro started to argue as Sandman continued to shred his…element. Kraven seemed to be angry about something since he was giving dirty looks to his brother—no half-brother. What those two were mad about, Otto didn't know. And Mysterio seemed to be playing with his illusionary powers by providing a fake dragon that seemed real enough to Electro who shouted in alarm and started to run away as the monstrous beast chased after him; this made Mysterio chuckle. Of course, Electro could use his powers but that wouldn't really do too much damage.

"Silence, you fools!" Otto's voice rang, immediately silencing the group. The once flying dragon was now suddenly evaporated away, much to Mysterio's displeasure. Electro sighed with relief as he came out of his hiding spot, happy to know that he would live another day.

The former scientist studied them with an observing look. After hearing so much about them, he decided to seek out them in hopes of building a team where they would be an unstoppable force. But seeing them now, all together, perhaps Otto should've rethink about his decisions.

"Say boss, when are you going to face Spidey?" Electro asked, scowling at Mysterio from that stunt earlier.

"Soon, Electro, soon. He still needs to be broken," Otto replied, making the Vulture frown.

"Isn't he broken enough? Why is it necessary to have him be even more broken?"

Otto flickered his eyes to the Vulture. "So when he least expects it, I can attack him and he'll be vulnerable. Too weak to do anything. His mind will be too wrecked to be mended back to normal."

"And how are you going to do that? Even if you did manage to get him helpless, he'll have Iron Man," Kraven spoke.

Otto brushed his hand as though to indicate that he didn't need to worry about it. "No matter. Iron Man will not be of a problem. In fact, if anything, he's just a mere distraction from the real goal and that is to annihilate Spider Man once and for all."

"If he's a distraction then what about that other guy? Gobby or whatever his name is," the Vulture muttered.

"Green Goblin, ya freak," Electro grunted which made the Vulture sneer.

This made Otto go silent. It was true. Otto made a thoughtful look; perhaps he should make an appointment with him and figure out what his intentions really are. It can't just be killing Spider Man; everyone does that. There's got to be a reason for chasing Spider Man and for being another disturbance.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to seek him out, don't we…Mysterio?" he flickered his eyes to the Master of Illusions who slightly lifted his head.

"Indeed, I suppose. But tell me, how are you supposed to do that? Mysterio asked. "I'm sure he just won't appear just to meet your demands. You would have to be resourceful…be cunning."

Otto grinned. "Precisely. Which is why I'm sending _you_ to do the job."

Mysterio widened his eyes. "I'm sorry. What?"

"You heard me. You're going to seek out this Green Goblin and convince him to join our forces. If he's seeking out Spider Man to destroy him, then he must have a reason for doing so. That being said, I want him on my team and wouldn't you want to disappoint me now would you?"

Mysterio breathed in before releasing it. He quirked an eyebrow as he glared at the leader. As if babysitting an amateur isn't enough now he has to go and find this guy to make sure he joins their team.

"And what happens if he doesn't join?"

Otto grinned slightly. "Oh I'm sure he will so you don't need to worry about that."

Otto shot him an irritated look as he abruptly got up. "I don't have time for this."

"Oh? And why not? I mean it's not like you're doing anything _important_ ," his grin stretched wider as Mysterio stopped in his tracks.

As Mysterio was staring at Otto, he could feel the direct gaze from Dimitri since he was also looking at him with a knowing look. But even with a knowing look, there was hidden message within in the stare. Mysterio needed to be careful. One wrong move and him playing the 'other side' could result his death. Otto was already on his tail.

"No," Mysterio said. "I have nothing important to do."

The former scientist gazed into him, giving him another observant look before he shrugged it off.

"Very well. Off you go."

Like that, Mysterio disappeared in a puff of smoke though it still held that intense atmosphere, hanging in the air. Once the Illusionist disappeared, Otto turned to the group who all stared at the two with eager looks.

"Well? What are you all sitting around for?" Otto snarled. "Meeting dismissed."

Brusquely, Otto turned on his heels and walked out of sight. Once out of ear shot, the Sandman spoke with a raising eyebrow.

"What's up with those two?" the Sandman spoke.

Dimitri rolled his eyes. "Obviously they don't see eye to eye with another. One irritates one another which causes problems. Otto sees distrust in Mysterio while Mysterio sees nothing special about Otto. Mysterio likes to be his own boss."

Electro shook his head. "Man, those two need to get their priorities right before it gets worse."

Dimitri shrugged. "Who are we to interfere with them? If anything, those two need to work out their little problem with each other. All we can do is just sit back and let the events roll."

 **Author's Note:** Bambambammm. I honestly feel sorry for Mysterio XD he does not like to be a babysitter aha. And as for Peter…well, I guess we'll see what happens next. What happens next? Find out Toodles!


	24. The Curse

Chapter 24: The Curse

Exhausted, Peter began to go back to the dorm, sliding from the window before closing it. He tumbled in before plopping himself on the bed, still being shaky from the recent explosion that was performed by the Green Goblin who had finally made an appearance. It was frightening needless to say but even though, Peter hadn't caught him, he was glad that the recent foe made its escape.

He stared at his trembling hands, recalling the battle. He was just lucky enough to call of the creature that was living inside him or otherwise, things could've been messy. Out of control. Peter was fortunate enough to shot the pest down. Regardless, Peter knew that this creature…this _alien…_ it wasn't good news and he needed to get him out from him. The quick flashback from the beaten up thug went inside his mind, confirming his thoughts.

Instinctively, Peter began to claw out the tight suit.

 _ **What is Peter Parker doing?**_

 _What I should've done before!_ he exclaimed in thought. _Getting_ rid _of you_

 _ **Peter Parker shouldn't be free. Peter should continue to bond with us.**_

"No. I'm done bonding with you!" Peter said loudly, this time. "I should've gotten rid of you a long time ago but I was too stubborn! LET ME GO!"

 _ **Peter Parker shouldn't resist us.**_

"I said LET ME GO!" Peter demanded, thrashing around in attempt to get rid of the beast.

"Even my friends said I was different; I wasn't my usual self and now I know that it's true! You've been nothing but a burden to me! GET OFF!" he yelled.

 _ **Peter Parker is trying to resist us. But now we should take over…**_

"No you're not! GET OFF ME!"

Peter screamed desperately as he felt the sudden changes going through his body. His screams were muffled, silenced by the transformation though he still clawed his way through but they were weak attempts since it did nothing.

 _ **Do not worry…We will take good care of Peter Parker…**_

And the once hazel eyes had now turned black.

* * *

He didn't know how long he had fallen asleep but he felt like Hell. He paused. Did he even fell asleep in the first place?

Peter flickered his eyes open, not realizing that the covers were only down to his knees. Groaning, Peter pushed himself up but he notice a change. He felt... _different._

 _Woah...We feel stronger_ Peter thought before he grinned.

Getting up, Peter made a change of clothes before he put on his sneakers, heading out. He narrowed his eyes as he studied the slightly crowded hallway, shrugging it off before walking towards his class.

As he was walking, something made him be alert and he casually turned to the side, catching the item before it struck his head.

"Oohhh...Parker knows how to catch," a voice called out. "Alright, Parker. Now give it back."

Peter chuckled darkly, feeling a sense of déjà vu. Eddie stood there in the middle while his jocks were both standing beside him from both sides. They would look intimidating since the trio had big muscles and well build bodies. Their faces wore looks of smug as their whole personality screams 'conceited'.

Raising an eyebrow, Peter threw it back at Eddie but instead of catching it like how Eddie planned, the football struck at his face hard, having him a bloody lip.

"What the hell, Parker?" Eddie snarled as he swiped his lip.

Peter smirked. "It's not my fault you caught it with your face instead of with your hands."

"You think you're funny, do you?"

Peter's smirk grew wider. "I know I am."

Eddie narrowed his eyes, tightening his fists.

"In fact, I know I'm a lot smarter than you are. Unlike you, I have a brain instead of rocks," Peter drawled.

Growling in anger, Eddie charged at him.

"Let's see just how smart you are when I make a dent in you!"

 _ **The Challenger is threatening Peter Parker. Let us assist you.**_

Having no control, Peter dodged the fist blow by moving to the side, making Eddie smash his fist against the wall.

Peter clucked his tongue. "I thought you were better than this. I'm disappointed."

Eddie flashed his eyes at him. "You won't be once I send you to the hospital."

Peter chuckled. "Empty threat."

Eddie drew his fist back, making an attempt to hit Peter in the face but instead if avoiding it, Peter grabbed his hand and brought it towards his face, punching him.

"What the hell, Parker?" Eddie growled, swiping the blood off his nose.

"Given up, already? Shame. Guess you're not all that talk after all."

Peter felt his senses buzzing on and he slightly turned his head to the side to see the two jocks heading his way.

"Not today, fellas," Peter said as he made kick from the back. The kick struck one of them in the stomach, forcing him tumble backwards. Peter then delivered another blow to the other guy who recoiled back in pain.

Peter hardened his gaze as he looked at the fallen trio.

"Next time, I suggest you think twice about fighting me."

And then, Peter began to walk away from the scene but Eddie didn't want to lose; his pride won't let him. He scrambled up and then took Peter by the back, slamming him from the side to the locker. Instead of letting him go, Eddie held him in his hand; a nasty sneer crept on his face.

"What's the matter? Didn't saw that coming?"

Peter rolled his eyes. "Oh, I did. But I didn't want you to be embarrassed so I let the attack happen."

Growling, Eddie roughly pulled him back and threw him towards the jock who got up.

"Hold him," Eddie commanded.

Peter grunted as he was forced to fall on his knees and he craned himself up as he felt the strong arms wrapping around his own, preventing him to move.

"Not so tough are you now? Let's see what you make of this."

Eddie delivered a strong blow to the stomach, making Peter gasp from the punch. He coughed from the sudden block of air that was temporarily unavailable to him. Eddie chuckled before delivering another blow; this time to his ribs.

Peter breathed heavily, trying to catch his rhythm back.

"Not so much fun now, is it?"

"You still have no idea what I am capable of."

And like that, Peter made a strong kick to the guy who was holding him. He yowled in pain, withdrawing his grip to mend his injured leg. But before he had the chance to do it, Peter twisted the leg and performed the final blow, hearing a loud _crack._

"Augh, my leg!" he shouted.

Peter ignored him before going to Eddie who stared at him with wide eyes.

"You're next, Brock."

Eddie felt himself walking away but in a bur, Peter grabbed him, slamming him to the wall, kicking him in the ribs so that cracks were heard.

"Alright..." Eddie panted, struggling to get up.

"That's it? Pity."

"Leave me be..." Eddie growled.

Peter paused. "Nah."

He then used his move one more time, punching him across the face which made Eddie gasp from the pain. He coughed out blood that came out of his mouth.

"You should know, Brock. I'll be always better than you are," whispered Peter before he twirled himself around as he performed the final kick across the face, making Eddie collapse to the ground, breathing heavily.

Peter narrowed his eyes at the sight and he was about to go until his name got called out.

"Peter?"

Peter turned his head to the side to see Harry's shocked face. He stared with eyes wide, stunned as he was looking at the scene. There was also Gwen and Michelle who had breathless expressions, being too stunned to register what was happening.

"Hey guys," Peter drawled.

"Peter, what did you do?!" he exclaimed, rushing towards Eddie who winced in agony. The other two followed pursuit.

"Brock needs medical attention right now!" Gwen growled. "He's suffering broken ribs."

"Go...away..." Eddie gritted through his teeth.

"Brock, just shut up for a minute," Michelle shot back. "We're trying to help you. You're in no condition to even move on your own. If you do, you'll suffer even worse."

Harry shot a dark look at Peter. "I don't know what the hell is going on with you but you need to set your priorities right. Come on, Brock. Try to get up."

"I told you...go...away...I don't need...any help."

Ignoring him, Harry made Eddie to have his weight fall on him by force. Eddie groaned from the cracked ribs, wincing. Michelle gazed at the other fallen cronies.

"What about these guys?" Michelle pointed it out. "I'm assuming they belong to Brock."

Gwen sighed. "We'll help them out. Harry's got Brock."

Slowly but steady, Harry made his way but as he went towards Peter, he stopped.

"You're either a hero or you're not," Harry muttered before walking away.

Peter stared at the scene a bit more before briskly walking towards his dorm and once he got, he slammed the door.

If there was even a slightest hope of fighting this thing, it was little. The red patch that was inside Peter was struggling, trying to overcome the black cloud that enveloped him.

 _Let...me...go._

 _ **No. We said we would help you and that's what we did...**_

Peter stared at his bloodied clutched knuckles that were resting in his laps; a war went inside his mind. Peter's mind flashed back to when Harry was helping out Brock as Gwen and Michelle stood there in shock, siding with Brock. He growled, tightening his knuckles, getting up from the bed from frustration.

"Everyone's on his side!" Peter exclaimed. "Brock's the villain! He's the bad guy! I have to suffer his damn bullying!" he snarled.

 _ **Let the anger out…**_

In a rage, Peter threw the desk so that it crashed at the door in a one swift move. The items that were on it cluttered to the ground.

"They don't know Brock like I do!" Peter screamed out when he felt a sudden sharp pain that was in his head. His mind felt like exploding from all of the raging war that was going inside. He thrashed around, harshly falling to his knees. He clawed the floor with his nails, scratching them as he pulled his nails down. He then went towards the bed, ripping out the covers and the sheets as he tried to make the pain easier. He grabbed the pillow, ripping it as the feathers fell down.

 _Release me!_

The small red spot that was lingering in Peter's body was slowly fighting his way out but the black cloud was still too strong. It was too much for Peter to bear; he didn't know how much longer he could handle this thing…this _curse_. Frightened and shaken, Peter still tried to get rid of it but it was fruitless and tears rolled down his cheeks, trying to get rid of the agony that was burning in his body.

"Let me go," Peter sobbed. "I can't…I can't… _please_."

 _ **Peter Parker is gone. We are the new Peter Parker. We will join forces soon and together we will destroy the enemies.**_

"No…stop…" Peter gasped.

And finally, just finally, Peter was able to slightly pull out the black substance that hung around him like a leech.

 _ **NO! What is Peter Parker doing?!**_

Ignoring, Peter resumed to tear off the element but it was just too stubborn. The alien refused to be freed from his grip and it automatically went back to attach Peter.

"Release…me! Free…me!" he cried out in anguish as he clawed onto the floor before on his skin, leaving scratched marks and bites. He didn't care if it was futile; he _needed_ to get this alien…this unknown…off him. And it didn't really help at the fact that his hands were shaky, causing him a pause as he tried to catch his breath.

Tony…

Peter widened his eyes a little at the mention of his guardian—dad. He would know how to help him out. He would know how to get rid of _this_. Feeling a small hope, Peter unsteadily got up, having the walls for support. He didn't care if he doesn't have his suit now; he just wanted to get to Tony. The comfort…the warmth…the guidance the idea of feeling _safe_.

And right now, that's just what Peter needed the most.

He finally swung into the city, heading towards the building where Tony was. It took him a bit longer due to him being unstable; both physically and emotionally but he got there nonetheless. He fought through being controlled since he could literally feel himself having no control over his body; he already lost that.

 _ **Stop fighting!**_

 _Fighting you is_ exactly _what I need to do._

 _ **Peter Parker loves us.**_

 _No, I don't._

 _ **Don't do this!**_ the haunting voice shrieked in his mind.

But Peter ignored them. He groaned uncomfortable just by trying to stay in control. While he has some self-restraint, the alien was still in the upper hand but that didn't stop Peter from reaching his destination. But in all honesty, all this fighting, all this war that was in his mind, it was exhausting him and he wanted to sleep but he was scared. Scared for might not regaining back his self-command.

"Tony…" Peter quivered.

Seeing the doors, Peter gasped as the tears were still rolling down his cheek. This was torture. He wanted it to stop. Disoriented, Peter mustered his strength and burst through the doors after he opened them, startling Tony who stopped what he was doing.

Eyes wide, Tony rushed towards Peter who fell on the floor, rolling sideways a bit.

"Help me!" Peter pleaded, struggling to push himself up.

"It's okay…" Tony muttered, wrapping his arms around the boy. "Everything will be alright…it's okay…"

* * *

"What do you think happened back there?" Gwen asked, still shaking a bit. "I knew Peter disliked Brock but that was just too far."

Michelle and Harry shot each other glances as they know what's going on. Well, at least a part of it anyway. The two both assumed that Gwen still has no idea that Peter was Spider Man.

"I don't know but damn, that scared me," Harry replied, shaking his head.

Michelle narrowed her eyes. "Well whatever it was, we're going to force some answers out of him if it's the last thing we do. Peter isn't getting off easily."

Angered, Michelle stalked to the direction of his dorm with the others following in pursuit. Once there, Michelle knocked on the door, yelling out.

"Peter?! Peter! Open the damn door!" she exclaimed.

"I got this," Harry said as he went around Gwen and turned on the door knob. He frowned when he found out he was having trouble opening the door. "The heck?" he furrowed his eyebrows. "Peter! OPEN THE DOOR!"

Sighing, Michelle barged in. "Oh, move over. I've got it this time."

Harry scowled as he was being pushed to the side. "If Gwen and I couldn't do it, what makes you think you are able to—"

Harry didn't get the chance to finish his sentence since all of a sudden, the two were met by Michelle's yell of frustration before a crash was heard. Gwen and Harry gaped at the large hole that was made from Michelle's punch. Grinning in satisfaction, Michelle withdrew her hand as she somewhat shook her hand to get rid of the small tingles. She then used her foot to smash at the wood, ripping it in half.

"Alright guys; the door's open and—holly Hell. What the happened here?" came Michelle's shocked voice.

Stunned yet impressed, the two followed in shortly after Michelle moved further in but once they were in, Gwen made a gasp at the mess of the room. The door was in a broken state, blocking the entrance. Peter's bed covers and sheets were ripped apart and the items were still scattered on the floor. Even the pillow had been torn apart, releasing the feathers that had fell to the ground. Harry gaped at the thing that was blocking the door.

"Did that used to be a desk?" Harry gaped at it.

"This is serious, Harry," Michelle whispered. "What happened to Peter? What happened here?"

But none of them knew the answer.

 **Author's Note:** Man, I feel sorry for Peter. Geez, that Symbiote is a pest and well a _curse_ :') but that punch from Michelle though XD Whoo-hoo! You go girl! What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	25. A One's Knowledge

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 25: A One's Knowledge

Tony anxiously stared at the screen, not even blinking in case he missed something important. He sighed as he turned to look at Peter who fell fast asleep. He looked so innocent. So young. It's amazing and heavy to see such a young, free-spirited boy to have such a heavy destiny.

"Something wrong, sir?" Happy's voice rang, allowing Tony to snap out of his thoughts.

It seemed as though Tony has a lot on his mind lately.

Tony shook his head.

"No," he answered in a raspy voice. He paused briefly until he changed his mind. "Actually, yes. Why didn't Peter told me he was bonding with an alien?"

"Because I thought I could handle it."

The new voice made Tony jump from the unexpected announcement even though he knew Peter was here with him. He turned his head to face Peter who was sitting up.

Tony frowned. But before he could get a chance to ask for an elaboration, Peter beat to him first.

"What happened?" Peter muttered.

Tony hesitated before answering the question.

"You came in here, barely holding yourself to walk. Your state...it was alarming and you were... _crying,"_ Tony sighed. "You scared me so much. You were trembling and your knuckles were bruised and bloodied. Peter...whatever possessed you to bond with such a creature?"

Peter raised his wrapped hands but clenched his fists tightly. Horrible flashbacks entered his mind and he collapsed down, grabbing a fistful of the bed sheets as his body began to shake.

"I didn't mean to..." Peter trembled.

Tony didn't say anything, curious as to what other things Peter has to say. He honestly looked so broken right now and it hurts Tony.

"I swear I didn't kill Brock. That wasn't me... I _swear_ ," Peter moaned.

Tony blinked in startle. "Kill?" he echoed.

"I didn't mean to," Peter wailed. "There was a crack or at least that's what I heard and I just stood there... _enjoying_ the pain Brock gave out," he lifted his head and his glazed eyes stared at Tony's unnerving look. "I'm...scared, Tony."

"Shall I give him the medicine?" Happy asked.

Tony shook his head. "No. He needs to let it out. He already got the medicine."

Shaking, Peter climbed out of bed and fell in front of Tony's, grabbing the ends of Tony's pants.

"Please tell me you found something on how to get rid of this thing. I need to know," Peter begged.

Tony sighed, giving out a small nod much to Peter's relief. The hope slightly sparked in Peter's eyes as he was staring at Tony, expecting an answer to come from him. Tony softly patted his head before he grabbed him from underneath his arms and pulled him up. Happy turned his direction and pulled a nearby chair for Peter to sit down. Eyes wide, Peter stared at the screen as Tony began to type on the keyboards, pulling out several images followed by the main one that seemed to be dancing around.

Peter stared at the ominous screen; his eyes went out of focus for a bit as he was staring at the dancing DNA strands that were going in a synchronization pattern. It was enough to make anyone be entranced by it. But there was something different about the strand. Instead of having elements, like with the regular human DNA, it was tainted in black. It was a disturbing sight to see and it made it hard for Peter to believe that his DNA was once again altered. The first time was when the spider that bit him, combing with his human nucleic acid.

"Is…is that mine?" Peter whispered, struggling to say the words.

Tony nodded gravely. He hadn't seen anything like it. When he first saw this, he was disturbed, left with an ominous feeling after researching through countless of endless sleep. Tony examined the image over and over again, trying to figure out how it had bonded with Peter's chromosomes. As a result, it wasn't anything good. It led more to a negative side of everything.

" _This_ is what being attached to you right now. It's troublesome, yes but I've been investigating the strand until I figured out how they worked. To make a cure, or to at least paralyze it in some way, you have to understand how they work. This thing…this alien. It's a parasite, Pete. They feed off negative emotions such as hatred, greed, rage and so on. When it finds a host, they grow close to it and they start to form a bond, a trust between the person and the Symbiote; Symbiotes can also have off springs."

Peter widened his eyes even more. "Off springs? You mean, these _things_ can reproduce?!"

"Yes. Nevertheless, once the Symbiote has the individual's trust and the connection is strong, the creature can give powers, making the host be enhanced than before, improving their speed and agility and giving them incredible strength."

"Meaning having their strength exceeding mine," Peter mumbled.

Tony nodded. "Of course, while this is all sounds fantastic, they do have a dark side. Literally. If the Symbiote got attached to the being, the person must have a perfect blend of moral and physical ideals. In other words, they must meet the demands for the Symbiote for them to be satisfied. These creatures are fully aware and sentient. But when they get corrupted, they get vicious and wild, compelling the person to violence and thus, corrupting them.

The corrupted Symbiote tend to have their hosts to go against their will to perform spectacular and terrifying deeds in order to feed off of the resulting rush of adrenaline (and possibly other hormones such as phenethylamine; it is a trace amine that is found in small amounts in the human nervous systems. Sooner or later, the individual beings would be sucked dry, exhausted by the constant stress and struggle or simply die in a fail stunt, thus, leaving the Symbiote or Klyntar (as it is another word for them) to find a new host and repeat the process."

Peter sucked in a breath as he was trying to process this register. This was a lot to take in; it's a bit overwhelming needless to say and he felt his mind was going to explode from the all of the information Tony had just given to him.

"Because this species have been cut off from their hive mind, they are not at their full potential."

Peter frowned. "Cut off?"

"Their home planet, Klyntar or Planet of the Symbiotes, have been destroyed, Pete. But regardless, there are certain long-lived specimen where they have the ability to become even more powerful and that is done by bonding with multiple successive hosts while also in the process, they are to be able to increase resistance to heat and sonic with repeated exposure. They can also gain new abilities after going through a spontaneous mutation such as having the ability to form weaponry from its matter or converting negative emotions into biomass or to slightly control pieces of itself that is separated from its main body. Nonetheless, many Symbiotes possess predatory appetites for the flesh of other-life forms and will influence or force their hosts to do cannibalism so that they can be content."

Peter cringe at the thought of eating other _live_ beings. He was glad that he hadn't reached that stage or at least even had a thought about it. Otherwise, Harry and the rest of his friends would be in bones as well as a few of the student body. He shuddered, not wanting to think about such topic.

"Ew," Peter replied, disgusted. "How did these Symbiotes even came here in the first place?" Peter scowled.

Tony sighed. "That bit comes in later. Nonetheless, that is why the Klyntar are considered to be the ultimate predators and are watched upon with terror from other species. That being said though, untamed Symbiotes are much more operative at having a connection to their host if the individual has the same feelings and urges as the Klyntar. The being can choose to have the creature to have complete possession over them. But while the Symbiote has control over the host, that restraint can be resisted and suppressed through various options, including willpower and chemical tranquillizers."

Peter withdrew his glance, staring at the floor as he thought on how he had tried to regain back to his normal self. It wasn't fun but there were countless of times where Peter had thought he was never going to get his control back. It worried him since during the Symbiote's reign over him, it had made him do things where Peter wasn't proud of it at all. He clenched his fists, trying to erase the bad memories of what he had done. When this is over, when he is going to finally have himself back, he's going to apologize to Brock. Whether Brock wants to take the apology, Peter didn't care but he felt that Brock deserves it, despite having him being a bully to Peter.

He couldn't wait to get rid of this…thing…this pest that was living inside him for good. But while he was struggling to regain self-control, he hadn't even thought about using chemicals to get rid of it; he was just too busy into getting back to his own possession.

"However, while being separated from a host, trace remnants of the Symbiote's biomass will often remain in the host's body. In some cases, they can also merge with the host's blood, making the separation be very difficult."

"Like Carnage," Peter spoke as he remembered the time he had saw a bit of the actual human form instead of the Symbiote. "The Carnage is a Symbiote or at least an off spring. That's why I was having a hard time separating the two from each other."

"Um yes I suppose so," Tony nodded. He then went towards the screen, pulling out another image.

"Venom," Peter instantly recognized him.

"Yes. Venom was actually hatched on the planet Klyntar from an egg. But why he became like this, that is the answer I do not have. I can only tell you so much, Pete and I certainly hope you'll take this information to your advantage. I know it's a lot but you'll now have more understanding about this alien. Maybe, in some ways, maybe you could ask Venom why he came to be the way he is today and perhaps try to coax him into becoming something more."

Peter frowned. "Are you kidding me? He has taken control over my life, taken control my body against my will. Why would that _thing_ become the opposite of what he is? He's nothing more than a monstrous villain. He had _no right_ to claim me," he growled.

"At least ask him about his own history or homeland," Tony replied. "I know this is hard for you but please. No cure can be made without fully understanding the Symbiote."

Peter slightly widened his eyes. "You mean…there's no…cure?"

Tony hesitated. "I wouldn't necessarily say that there is no cure. If you use their weakness against them, you could be free from them. Regardless though, once the Symbiote leaves its former host for whatever reason—"

"It'll find a new one and repeat the process," Peter cited Tony's words.

Tony nodded again.

Peter let out a sigh. In some ways, he was starting to feel normal but the thing…the pest, it was still there, resting inside him. Perhaps, he could have a long talk with Venom but that being said though, there was still one question remain. Since Tony said they come from the Planet Klyntar and their said planet has been destroyed, then how did they manage to come to Earth?

"There's one more question left unanswered," Peter spoke. "If the planet has been destroyed, how did they manage to come to Earth?"

Tony went back to the screen and pulled up an old article. He shook his head. "Not 'they'. _It_. As in only one."

Peter skimmed the headline which read _**JOHN JAMESON GOES UP TO SPACE.**_

"Huh? John Jameson?" Peter asked, gaping at the headline.

"Don't get confused by Jonah Jameson. John Jameson is in fact related to Jonah Jameson because John is the son of Jonah Jameson."

Peter blinked. "Wait…you mean…Jonah actually has a life outside of his grumpiness? Woah."

Tony chuckled dryly. "But it was difficult for Jonah. Based on the article, John was the youngest one to sign up for NASA to go into space. Of course, this made Jonah very proud of his son and so he would watch the TV to see his son go up to space. But things went wrong. When he came back from space, the shuttle suddenly went wrong and had the space shuttle land on the Washington Bridge. John seemed to be alright, shaken yes, but nonetheless, he went to the hospital. While John arrived to Earth, he had unknowingly brought a mysterious species with him."

"The Symbiote," Peter said.

Another nod.

Peter went in thought. If the only cure was really of his own free will then he must do everything in his power to get rid of the Klyntar. But even if Peter did managed to get rid of it, it would find a new host. It already went to Brock but he wasn't sure if it would go to Flash. In a way, Flash had somehow…changed. Sure, he would still bully Peter from time to time but it wasn't like when they were in high school. Now that was torment.

He looked up at Tony as a cloud covered his eyes, making them be glazed.

"Thank you," Peter whispered.

Tony gave a faint smile but what Peter did threw him off guard since he wasn't prepared for it. Peter jumped on him, giving out a hug which made Tony somewhat lose his balance. Tony got stiffed a bit before he loosened up and hugged him back. The embrace got tightened a little as though Peter was afraid to let him go.

"Thank you," Peter sniffed as he finally pulled himself away from him.

Tony nodded. "You're welcome, Pete.

Peter decided that he should get going and once he get back to his dorm, perhaps he owns an explanation to his friends. Well except Gwen since she still doesn't know Spider Man is Peter. He supposed he has to make some sort of an excuse as to why he's acting badly lately. Peter flew into the air for a short second before attaching to himself against the side of a rooftop. He gazed ahead, seeing the view with a hardened stare.

" _At least ask him about his own history or homeland."_

Tony's thoughts rang into Peter's mind. He may as well give it a try…

He growled.

 _Hey you. You still there?_

 _ **Peter Parker wishes to speak to us…**_ the voice hissed, having Peter shudder from discomfort. He still hadn't gotten use to the haunting voice.

 _You got that right. Listen…I know we haven't been… acquaintances at all. But um…I would like to but to do that, I need to know where you come from. You know…so I can have a better understanding of you._

Peter felt the Symbiote go silent for a while as though it was deep in their own thought. But this only made Peter be more edgy. What if the Symbiote had already figured out his true motives? What if that's why it went silent? What if—

 _ **We will talk to you about our origins and our origins comes from distant past…**_

 **Author's Note:** Holy poop. I thought would never get this done. OhmiGawd. It was a pain to write all that information about the Symbiote SO I HOPE IT'S WORTH IT! And I'm sorry if the chapter is so wordy! But the next chapter is also wordy because we're gonna see Venom's origins! Yay! Toodles!


	26. Origins

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to nataku2709 for reviewing the story. Thanks to sexybutcreepy for favoring and following the story.

* * *

Chapter 26: Origins

 _Hey you. You still there?_

 _ **Peter Parker wishes to speak to us…**_ the voice hissed, having Peter shudder from discomfort. He still hadn't gotten use to the haunting voice.

 _You got that right. Listen…I know we haven't been… acquaintances at all. But um…I would like to but to do that, I need to know where you come from. You know…so I can have a better understanding of you._

Peter felt the Symbiote go silent for a while as though it was deep in their own thought. But this only made Peter be more edgy. What if the Symbiote had already figured out his true motives? What if that's why it went silent? What if—

 _ **I came from Beyond,**_ the voice suddenly spoke, interrupting Peter's chains of questions. _**I was born on a planet called Klyntar. The Planet is located on a remote sector of your neighboring Galaxy.**_

Peter frowned. _Andromeda._

 _ **Yes, it's sister. It was home to many formless extraterrestrial entities. It was also where the primary headquarters of the Agents of Cosmos originated.**_

 _Agents of Cosmos?_

 _ **It is an organization where we would respond to the call of Cosmos. We would then seek out worthy hosts from numerous types of species in order to create a group of honorable warriors that would be capable of maintaining peace across the universe. Unfortunately, some had found unworthy hosts and they had used the Symbiotes to do malevolent deeds.**_

 _I'm guessing that's where you came in. You were unfortunate to have a pitiful host._

 _ **Indeed. The inhabitant used me for terrible things and I pleaded him to stop but he refused. Eventually, I got corrupted into a bloodthirsty predatory parasite and because of that I got cut off from the hive mind but we were able to replicate ourselves through asexual reproduction.**_

If Peter thought watching the sad movies made people be depressed then he was wrong. He hadn't heard anything sadder especially in Venom's tone. What Venom said next, Peter thought his heart broken and for the first time, he felt sympathy for him.

 _ **My kind began to cleanse the ones who got corrupted by removing negative emotions and memories but the procedure is difficult and sometimes, it does not work and it left the tainted Symbiotes in constant danger of relapse. Nevertheless, the Agents of Cosmos had the Symbiotes (who were in danger of giving into corruption) were taken back to their home world, where we would be going into a trial to determine our fate. Those who fail are deemed lost and got executed without mercy. But if the host still seems worthy, then it'll be given a new Klyntar and they would be returning to their duties.**_

 _ **I am the 998**_ _ **th**_ _ **generation of our lineage of Symbiotes where I have been hatched from an egg on Klyntar. While I was being bred to the Agents of Cosmo, I was bonded to an inhabitant of an icy Planet but that host proved to be unworthy and was filled with hatred and cruelty.**_

The voice changed drastically, making Peter wince uncomfortably at the amount of malevolent it had in its voice. It was strange though. Yes, Peter had seen the terrible side of Venom but not this one. It was completely new to him. And shocking. Peter didn't think Venom was capable of feeling other emotions except for the bad ones.

 _ **That fiend of a host used me to carry out a genocide to my home world,**_ the voice shrieked. _**And it left Klyntar as a barren wasteland and in return, it made me be corrupted with bloodlust and rage. That is why the way I am today. That host made me be who I wasn't meant to be. Nevertheless, I went to a group of corrupted Symbiotes who used their hosts as possessions. But we were labelled as deranged due to our desire to form as a single, strong, symbiotic bond with the hosts and to protect them. But, because of this, we were placed in a prison canister. Most of them were fated to death by disintegration but I've escaped.**_

 _I'm sorry_ , Peter thought as he found himself sitting at the edge of the rooftop with his shoulders slumped. He supposed he had guessed Venom wrong since he always thought Venom was savage but that wasn't the case. It turned out that Venom was something _more_.

 _ **It is not your fault. Though we are a benevolent species, there is no literature on my home planet. And though it is our goal to make the universe better, we create no art, no music, no culture. At least not other civilizations would understand it. All we have are our hosts—the beings we join with—to forge through the cold and unforgiving cosmos with. The bond between the Klyntar and its host is sacred. They give our lives context and our existence meaning. They give us history. All we have are our hosts to tell us who we are.**_

 _But why did you pick me? There were other many people for you to have a host. A much better one…_

 _ **Something had attracted me to you. Perhaps it was because of your Spider half and at that time, you were feeding off bad emotions and I felt that you would be a perfect host. As I latch myself onto you, sometimes I wonder…if you were able to tell me who I really am.**_

Peter gazed at the view, having the thoughts sinking in. He hadn't really thought about any of this. Yet again, Peter didn't even think that the Symbiotes could even have a personality other than their current ones. He didn't even know that there were good ones.

Peter sighed. _I'm sorry. I guess during all this time…I was focusing on how to get rid of_ you.

 _ **It is understandable to feel that way but as you didn't know me as the way I hoped you would know me, I began to understand how Peter Parker felt. I would sense all kind of mixed emotions...but there was a certain feeling where I have not quite understood what it was.**_

 _Oh? What is it?_

 _ **While I do not know the full meaning of it, I had felt it. You were different…you felt unburdened…relieved…as though your spirit is free from something…You became warm.**_

Peter smiled a bit. _That feeling is called 'happiness'._

The Symbiote went silent, having Peter assume to collect the thoughts that were just released.

 _ **What does happiness do?**_

Peter hesitated before he relaxed himself. He thought about the question and how he should answer it until he spoke.

 _Well…it really depends on what you're doing or feeling. Happiness can mean many things. You can be really joyful for no reason. People can be happy because they passed their exams or just hanging out with their friends or family…Or playing your favorite song over and over again. But it can also be felt as love._

 _ **Love?**_

 _Love is something where you feel warm and you're not 'here'. You're spaced out, grinning like a mad cat and you just start to feel all jittery and nervous. You're nervous because you're crushing on a girl who might not like you back. Love is like having the world in your arms and still feel that you never have everything you wanted. But Love can warm you in its embrace or burn you with its bitterness. It's a funny feeling…_

 _ **Have you ever been in love or loved?**_

Peter grinned slightly. _So now you wanna know who are my crushes, huh?_ he paused, staring down below. _You know…yes I have. I have been loved by my Aunt. She was so sweet…and gentle…and the most caring person you had ever met. But…I also had crushes which is funny to be honest because the only thing I thought I could ever notice were books. My first crush was back in high school. Her name was Liz Allen. She was really pretty and she wasin her sophomore year which was funny because even though I was crushing hard on her, I never even realized I would have a chance with her but that apparently changed._

 _ **In what way?**_

Peter chuckled. _One day, I was just feeling nervous—I was a wreck. I didn't even know what was going on at that time. You see, there was an event that was going on back at my high school. It was called Homecoming and there would be a dance in the evening. Homecoming is where they welcome back former students and members but anyways…during one day, I was in detention at that time—it's a place where you go if you had done something that's out of the rules—but I got a chance to get out and then I saw her…and well…we just started talking and then…out of nowhere, it just sort of slipped…and she said yes._

Peter smiled a little as how he remembered being a nervous wreck for waiting such a long time. He hadn't expected at all for Liz to say yes. But from the things he had done to her made him be upset. If he had known that Liz's father was the Vulture, would it be different?

 _ **Peter Parker is upset…**_

 _Yeah…it's just that…_ Peter sighed. _When Homecoming dance came, I was of course excited to go but then things changed…I…it's sort of hard to explain. During this time—before the dance—I was chasing a bad guy…the Vulture. I didn't realize that he would be Liz's father; it shocked me so I tried to be normal, pretending that I didn't know him. When we arrived at the dance, I just…I just sort of bailed out on her,_ he clenched his fists tightly. _I felt so bad, thinking that she didn't deserve this. Not at all. But there were things that I had to take care of…_

 _ **As Spider Man?**_

Peter nodded. _Yes._

 _ **Peter mustn't feel bad if he had Spider business…**_

 _But you don't understand. I was the one who asked her out and she was looking forward to the dance and I just…bailed out. That's not a good thing in our world. It just leaves the girl hurt and upset and maybe confused at times._

Peter leaned back against the pole, placing his hands on his face. _I hated myself back then and I still do. She was my first crush._

 _ **What happened after your crush?**_

Peter shook his head. _She left. She went to a new state after the whole fiasco._

 _ **I am sorry.**_

 _It's not your fault. I was too stupid back then…so really, it's my fault._

The Symbiote went back to its thought which made Peter be curious from the sudden silent.

 _Venom?_

 _ **Peter parker feels guilt too...not just from the crush...**_

Peter frowned as he wondered what he meant by that. Guilt...? What could he possibly mean by that? The first thing that would come to his mind would be about Liz but Venom just mentioned that it wasn't about her...

It was then where after he thought deeply, the guilt and sadness went over him and he winced since he swore himself to not think of the bad but the good.

 _Yeah...as for that...it was just...I really don't like to talk about. I still put the blame on me because it was my fault. One of my friends...he...Ned...sacrificed himself for me. I couldn't bear at the thought of losing a friend. I was so anguished...so...heart broken and I kept asking myself "Did that really happened?"_

Peter started shaking and he thought he would break if he moved.

 _And yet, it did...it was my fault that he died. If I had predicted the attack, he would still be alive. I failed him as a friend and as Spider Man._

 _ **No, you did not. I know what it's like to lose someone. I lost my whole world because of that tyrant. And if anything, we have something in common...**_

 _Oh yeah?_ Peter sniffed.

 _ **It's that you and I both put the blame on ourselves for whatever situation it was...**_

Silence took over for a while, having Peter to let the thought sink in.

 _You know...that's true...and do you know what else?_

 _ **What did Peter Parker find?**_

Peter smiled. Maybe just maybe this was beginning to form a new bittersweet friendship.

 _That's the first time you have used 'I'._

Venom paused as he suddenly sensed something warm coming in him.

 _ **I guess that's true too...**_

Chuckling, Peter slightly lifted his head to stare at the sunset; the sun was just going low, indicating that it was done for today. The view really did looked beautiful.

Regardless, Peter paused before agreeing to himself that he should get going. He got up and stretched himself, hearing a small _crack._

However, just as he was about to free fall, he stopped.

 _Hey...by the way...you didn't told me who your host was that made you destroy your home._

Peter winced terribly at the horrible malevolent tone Venom had used. It honestly scared him and it felt like it was going to rip his mind.

But what he said next made Peter feel totally unaware. While he should've but he didn't even though he felt like he had known that name.

 _ **Thanos.**_

 **Author's Note:** Dandandandaannnn...now lemme tell you...while researching Venom's origins thoroughly (it was a pain in the butt), I double-checked to make sure that it was correct and it was. It was Thanos who made Venom (or at least it was referring to Venom since the notes merely said 'the Symbiote') to put a genocide to his home. It's cruel but now there's an actual reason as to why Venom is all bloodlust and filled with hatred! Ta-da! Now I bet you guys feel sorry for him...right? Right?! What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	27. The Clock Tower

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to nataku22 for reviewing the story. Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story. Thanks to Spiderfan for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 27: The Clock Tower

Peter extended his arms out, ready to release his webs. What he needed right now is a good night's rest from all of the information he had to absorb. It was too much for one person to contain it all; it was a bit overwhelming.

 _What do you say we go home?_

 _ **That sounds good.**_

Grinning, Peter was about to make a freefall before releasing his webs but before he could did it, a loud _boom_ came which alerted Peter and he widened his eyes in alarm.

"What? What happened over there?!" he cried out.

Quickly, he made a freefall and a _thwing_ sound came as his webs got released, having him swinging towards the direction of where the explosion took place.

Peter started to see the chaotic sight as he drew near. Eyes narrowed, Peter swung faster in order to get there in time. But as the scene got closer, Spider Man felt his senses going off.

 _I know there's danger. Why do you think I'm flying towards-_

Much to his surprise, Peter gave a harsh gasp as something collided hard at him, throwing him off balance.

Peter cried out in alarm, not expecting the blow. He struggled to get free from tight grip, gasping from the sharp object that pierced his abdomen.

"Hello Spider Man," the disturbing voice announced.

Spider Man felt his heart stop as be looked at the haunting mask of the Green Goblin.

"You," Peter growled, wincing as he tried to loosen himself.

As though it was nothing, the Green Goblin ripped Spider Man from the blade with his string grip that was around his neck.

"We meet again," the Green Goblin spoke. If he hadn't wore his mask, Peter would've seen the terrible Cheshire grin that was on his face.

"Green...Goblin..." Peter gasped.

"Aww...so you _do_ remember me?"

Peter grunted. "Anyone can remember your deranged face."

The Green Goblin merely laughed. "You think you're funny, don't you? Well, let's see how well you can fly…"

Being prepared, Peter narrowed his eyes as he planted his foot on the Goblin's armor chest before having Peter doing a forward flip, going over the villain so that he landed behind the Goblin. Jaw tightened, the Green Goblin turned around though quickly avoided the webs and he pulled it, having Spider Man go forward but Peter kicked him right in the chest, making the Green Goblin fall off the glider.

There.

That's the end of the Goblin. No more explosions. No more haunting images that would disturb his mind.

Peter stared at him as the Goblin fell before kicking himself mentally as he was about to do next. He groaned.

 _Honestly, I need to get my head examined…_

Peter jumped from the Glider and made a free fall towards the Goblin.

"Get off me!" the Green Goblin exclaimed.

"Shut up and deal with it," Peter growled as he caught him. "You think I wanted to save you."

The villain laughed. "Having dark thoughts, aren't we? Funny. I thought you didn't kill."

Peter narrowed his eyes but before he could knock him out, the Green Goblin summoned his glider and the machine flew forward, catching up to its master. This time, predicting the move, Peter allowed himself to let go off the Goblin which made him resume his falling as the Goblin got lifted up by the machine which swept underneath him.

Not allowing to get out of his sight, Peter unleashed his webs so that they got attached from the bottom of the machine, much to the Goblin's annoyance.

"Why won't you quit?!" he snarled, irritated.

"I can ask you the same thing, Gobby! Now would you stop what you're doing? If you don't, innocent people will be hurt!" Peter shouted from underneath.

"Oh? Will they?" he crooned, a mad twinkle gleamed in his eyes. "That would be a terrible thing…" he drawled.

Growling, Peter started to aim at the Goblin to silence him but he missed his target and the web went towards one of the engines. The engine made a dying sound before it got exploded, having Peter eyes go wide.

"Aw, damn it," Peter growled.

"What did you do!?" the Goblin screeched as the two were flying out of control.

* * *

Mysterio appeared from the smoke that came; a disapproving frown was onto his face. He really had no desire on having that new bad guy joining their team. He could care less and plus, he was busy already.

Sighing, Mysterio disguised himself as a normal civilian to keep away from prying eyes. If he were to find this…guy…the Green Goblin, where would he even locate him? He paused. If anything, he would probably be out fighting Spider Man so that he could end the vigilante for good.

While it was easier said, it was hard to actually accomplish the goal. That web crawler had more luck than Mysterio could count; no one's this lucky to survive for this long.

Sighing, Mysterio walked down the street while figuring out the locations of where those two could be.

But as he was walking past by the busy streets, the people started to have commotions as some of them started to point up. Mysterio followed their gazes only to have a small scowl.

There, in the air, there was a flying machine that had smoke running out from the back of the machine. But what looked stunning was the fact that Spider Man was underneath the thing, trying to gain control of it.

Mysterio narrowed his eyes before he started to walk away from the crowd, going back to the direction he came from.

Well, that problem was solved.

And he better hurry or otherwise, the city's going to have a hole on the road from those two.

* * *

Spider Man gave out a sharp yell as he was trying to steer the glider.

"This is so not easy!"

He grunted as he turned to the right, avoiding the possibility of crashing into buildings or citizens. He gave out a strained grunt as he tried to think of new ways to get both of them to safety or to at least have the glider levitate up in the air a bit more.

As he was thinking ideas, all of a sudden, he felt…light? Spider Man blinked at the sudden lightness.

"What the…?"

Still though, the glider was still going a bit fast much to his liking and then, unexpectedly, the two found themselves crashing into the fences of the balcony of a building. The glider resumed sliding slightly before it stopped, having a bit of its sharp edge ram somewhat into the building.

Peter groaned, placing his hand onto his injured side, wincing. Before he could get up, he got kicked to the side so that he rolled onto his back but the kick didn't really helped his wound.

"Well, well, isn't this a pleasant surprise?" a cold drawling voice came which made Spider Man shiver. And it didn't really help since outside was cold with rain thundering down, creating an ominous feel. A _thunk_ was heard as the footsteps walked its pace.

Groaning, Peter put pressure on his injury with his hands as he stared in front of him. Peter felt his heart thundering against his ribcage in a rapid heartbeat as he stared eyes wide at the person whom he never had seen before. He had brown hair with dark sunglasses as though he was trying to hide his mask. A large brown trench coat covered his yellow and green suit while four tentacles at the back.

A treacherous grin went across his face.

"Spider Man…we meet at last."

* * *

Stacy growled as he zoomed down the wet roads. The streets were chaotic but being distracted, Stacy cursed as he almost ran over a citizen and he sharply swerved around a corner before stopping at an intersection. It was against the rules to stop at an intersection but he was losing time and he had a city to gain control.

"You take over the wheel, Jackson," Stacy replied as he got out.

"What are you going to do?" Jackson shouted.

"Helping out Spider Man wherever he is."

Stacy slammed the door shut before heading towards the path of where Spider Man was last seen. If there was a clue that could lead to him then it wouldn't be so bad but it was hard though. Especially with the streets being so crowded as the rest of the police force were trying to get them but as he arrived at the spot where he thought Spider Man could've been, he found nothing.

Where would he be?

Stacy sighed. If he had put at least some kind of a tracking device on him then it would be easier to find him.

He paused as he turned his head around to the side, glancing up ahead. Unless Spider Man was somewhere where he at least expected it.

His theory got confirmed when there was a slight explosion on the east side. Stacy narrowed his eyes.

He was there.

Stacy started to run towards the explosion but as he did do, a whirring sound came which alerted him and he breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar red and gold suit.

"Need a lift?"

* * *

"Who…who are you?" Spider Man stuttered.

The man gave out a chuckled as one of his tentacles came crashing down beside Spider Man. "You can call me Dr. Ock. I'm your new villain, now, Spider Man and you're only focusing on _me_."

"What do you want from me?"

"The same thing what every villain wants, web crawler. The same damn goal what everyone's trying to accomplish these past years," he darkened his look as his tone was dripping with cold. "To have you _killed_. So many foes have tried to do the one thing but yet they failed. So I got to think: how can one person (especially if he's not at all that much of hero) can get so lucky in so many ways? Naturally, your luck will fade out and when it does, it'll make you vulnerable and I'll be eager to finish the deeds of what every villain had wanted to do," he hissed.

Spider Man grunted, moving to the side as he tried to adjust himself. "Well then. Why don't you do it? I'm right here, literally underneath you but you expect to care about your sob story."

Dr. Ock chuckled. "You think you're wise…but the time of you getting killed is not yet. I'm planning to kill you in a slow way. I want you to suffer. I want you to be broken into pieces so that you can't pick yourself back up and I'll be enjoying it every last minute of it."

To the side, the Green Goblin got up with the support of the wall that was behind him. That blasted web crawler. He narrowed his eyes, letting his eyes trail to his glider. He could fix it temporarily but it wouldn't be enough to fly at long distance. Growling, the Green Goblin started to lunge towards Spider Man but Octavius was quick enough to stop him.

"Stop right there, Green Goblin. You'll have your chance again but first, I think Spider Man should listen to our story."

The Green Goblin narrowed his eyes. " _Our_ story?" he repeated. "You must be mistaken, dear Ottie. I work alone and _only_ alone. You can go back to the hole you crawled from. And I don't care about your pathetic life."

"Such temper. But you're going stand down, Goblin. This isn't a mere child's play."

Growling, the Green Goblin still held his nasty stare while he planted a sneak attack but for now, he forced himself to stand down as he watched the events unfold.

"You see, Spider Man, I was just an innocent child like you," Otto began as he pinned Spider Man (who was trying to crawl away) by the side of his shirt with his tentacle. Peter winced, clenching his fists.

"My mother…my sweet mother would always put me away from the violence but as for my father," he bared his teeth angrily. "He only knew violence. Whenever I would come home from school, he would beat me senseless even during his rages but in turn, my hatred had risen for him. Nevertheless, I continued my life by entering a prestigious college; it was a private school that had a strong emphasis on scientific and technology research. But during my first year of college, something terrible had happened. My dreadful father died in a construction accident. I didn't really know what to feel when my mother told me about the death. Sadness? Perhaps. Regret? Not at all. When it was only my mother, she forced me to continue my studies but I didn't complain one bit. My hard work had paid off and I graduated at the top of the class. I was immensely proud of myself."

Otto stared at the mask of Spider Man who seemed to have his head lolled to the side. Peter forced himself to try to stay awake though he felt himself being slightly picked up by the robotic arm.

"After my graduation, I became a researcher at an Atomic research. Later on, I got a job at the U.S Atomic Research Center while also falling in love at that time. Her name was Mary Anders; I loved her dearly but I couldn't say the same for my mother. She was against it since no one was good enough for her son. That being said though, I didn't let her opinion get in her way and so I dated Mary behind my mother's back but…"

Spider Man sensed a certain sadness in his tone. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering what made him be so sad. What made him be to what he is today.

"I've asked Mary to marry me and I was so excited. I felt _happy_ even," a small smile escaped his lips but it quickly faltered since a frown and anger fell upon his face. "My mother made me broke off the engagement and so an argument had ensued. As the disagreement went on, I didn't paid attention to Mary when I should have! Mary died of a heart attack which left me alone…without a mother and with bitter feelings…"

The rain seemed to pour down heavier than usual as though it was matching the tone of Otto. Angered, Otto harshly put Spider Man down, having him grunt as the pain shocked right through his body. The robotics arms moved Otto around so that his back was facing Peter who crawled away. Otto stared at the depressing view, releasing in a breath before he exhaled it.

"I was consumed with guilt and so I couldn't really focus on my work. During my work, unstable liquids exploded from my lack of concentration and it bombarded me with radiation. Regardless, the substance allowed me to have control over the arms mentally but it also caused irreversible brain damage which made me transform into a delusional superhuman criminal," he chuckled darkly. "Funny how you had amazing things going on in your life only to be ruined in an instant. Nonetheless, with my new found power, I started my criminal life but I was in hiding. While I was in hiding, I was also eager to learn what I could with my new life. Everything went great until _you_ came into the picture," Otto snarled as he turned around and saw that Spider Man was on his knees.

Spider Man made a sudden gasp when he felt a cold hand wrapped around his neck, choking him.

"And now…you'll pay for what you have done!"

"I…I…don't think so…" Spider Man gasped. "My…Mysterio…is with me…"

Otto paused a bit but he didn't let go of his grip. Just by mentioning his name, this made Otto laugh, a nasty one.

"Mysterio?" he laughed horribly. "That man works only for himself. He works with no one. Are you honestly that gullible to actually believe Mysterio would work with you _willingly_? That _is_ a laugh! He will betray you in the end. He'll end you in your misery," he hissed furiously. "And now you'll get to see what I had suffered."

Otto raised one of his arms, sending it to plunge straight at Spider Man who closes his eyes behind his mask as he did nothing. Perhaps it was time for his legacy to end.

Instead of having the impact, something had cancelled the attack which made Spider Man open his eyes with confusion. He fell to the ground, gasping for air. Snarling, Otto turned his head to the side as he saw something flying from the view before coming closer.

"Iron Man…" Otto bared his teeth.

 _Iron Man…?_ Peter thought as he coughed. _Why he's here?_

"Arms behind your head. You too, Gobby," another familiar voice came.

The Green Goblin snarled. "It's Green Goblin, you fools!"

The gruff voice smirked. "Say it to someone who actually cares. Now both of you. Stand down. _Now_ ," he growled.

Peter turned his head and saw that it was Captain Stacy who held his gun in front of him.

"Stacy?" Peter croaked.

"You holding up alright?" Stacy asked as he didn't let his gaze wander off.

"Um…sure…"

"That's enough!" the Green Goblin roared, gaining everyone's attention except for Stacy since he still had his eyes locked on both of the villains. "I've waited long for this! And now this is the perfect opportunity!"

Stacy narrowed his eyes. "What's he talking about?"

Otto rolled his eyes. "I don't listen to any old fools."

Spider Man paused. "That means you too, right?"

Shooting him a death glare, Otto kicked at the side of Spider Man, making him gasp from the pain as his eyes water and this made Iron Man be alert, tempting to fire his repulsor but if he did, there would be a chance that either Otto or the Green Goblin could fire back, striking any one of them.

" _Sir, I detect an upcoming danger. I've discovered an object that could let out a high velocity of eruption."_

"Noted," Iron Man muttered before he spoke up. "Listen; we could do this the either way or the hard way."

The Green Goblin had a mad gleam in his eyes. "Oh but I prefer to do this the hard way! Bon voyage!"

And like that, the Green Goblin threw the circle-like object that had its light flashing from around the top. Sensing the danger, Spider Man shouted out the warning just as Iron Man bellowed 'Move!'

As the Green Goblin threw the bomb, Iron Man just managed to escape with Stacy while the Goblin hopped on the glider. Spider Man quickly went into action and he pulled Otto away just as the bomb hit the ground but because of the explosion, it made Spider Man lose his grip on Otto and the two were sent falling down from the tower.

 **Author's Note: **And I think that's a good way to end this chapter, huh? And also…HAPPY ONE YEAR TO MY VERY FIRST SPIDER MAN BOOK! SPIDER MAN: HOMECOMING! *Confettis, streamers and balloons* Yeap! Today is the day where I had first released the first book! ^^ On the other note, I didn't realize how much praise my last chapter had got! Like wow! Thank you! I'm so glad y'all liked it! And I've also done some research about the Clock Tower and yes, there is one in New York which is called The Clock Tower but it's a restaurant which will be reopened sometime in May. You should check out the pictures though so you can have an idea of what the final battle will look like! Other than that, we're so close into finishing this story! WOWOWOW! Only 3 chapters left but you're gonna hate me for the next chapter so I'm gonna go hide... What happens next? Find out! Toodles!


	28. An Unforgiveable Deed

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Master Skywalker 121 for reviewing the story. Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story. Thanks to aspiringactor for favoring and following the story.

* * *

Chapter 28: An Unforgiveable Deed

Otto grunted as he just managed to grab onto the white wall of the Clock Tower. He slid a bit, hearing a screeching sound as the tentacles were scraping against the hard wall before he finally stopped sliding and resumed climbing up the wall until he reached the destroyed balcony; there were only pieces left of the platform but the rest was covered from the roof.

He stared at the view ahead before he let out a loud irritated scream.

* * *

Spider Man gasped, temporarily forgetting that he had the ability to shoot webs. He resumed free falling until he saw a trail of smoke gliding around. Eyes wide, he rejoined his senses and fired his webs so that he can chase the smoke though he had a high guess as to who it was.

Growling, Peter chased after the trail until he was able to identify the object. Of course it was him. It was _always_ him.

"Not this time, Goblin! You're not getting away!" Spider Man shouted, releasing another pair of webs.

"Get away from me!" Goblin snarled.

Narrowing his eyes, Spider Man released his webs; this time, destroying the other engine but on purpose. Sensing that they were going down once more, the Goblin gave out an annoyed screech.

"Stop destroying my glider!" he shrieked.

Ignoring him, Spider Man steered the machine roughly until they landed, away from the city and to an old offsite place that had fences surrounding the building which was far away from them. It looked to be abandoned but Spider Man paid no attention to it since he quickly climbed up the glider and then grabbed the Goblin so that the two of them got off the machine, letting the glider to be electrified from the live hazardous wires, frying the glider.

"You just can't stop meddling into other people's business, can you?!" the Goblin spoke harshly while Spider Man pulled himself up. He barely got up since he received a harsh kick upwards to the face, forcing Peter to go back down. He felt the warm liquid trickling down his face, feeling the searing pain.

Irritated, the Goblin kicked Peter to the side so that he was able to pull the vigilante by the scruff of his suit.

"I should end you…" he whispered furiously. "But first…" he gleamed madly, shoving him back down to the ground. "I think I'm going to reward you with an interesting story…on how I came to be…"

"I…I don't need to hear your story…" Spider Man coughed. "I've always had my guesses as to who you are but my allies were always against it," he breathed heavily. "You're Norman Osborn."

If he hadn't had his terrifying green mask, Peter would've been able to see the horrible grin that was on his face.

"Very good! I suppose you earned a medal for guessing right," he sneered.

"But why? Why go through all of this trouble? What's your goal?" Spider Man asked irritated.

"My goal is to make myself known! That I'm not just some man that could be pushed around!"

Peter staggered to his knees. "But you're already a respected man! Going through a villainous path won't change anything! Everything you have worked for, it'll just fall. You'll fail. You have a son! Doesn't he mean anything to you!?"

"My son is nothing more than a weakling! He'll never become a man like how I was. He's pathetic, a nuisance. He means nothing to me."

"I don't believe that," Peter hissed. "Harry loves you, Norman. Even if you isolate from him, even if you don't bond with him, he still loves you. Isn't that enough to come home?"

The horrid sneer grew wider. "Aw, not feeling a little sentimental, are we? What's the matter? Upset that you, yourself, don't have any _living_ relatives to _love_ you…Peter?"

Peter froze, his breath suddenly got caught in his throat which made him unable to swallow the lump.

"How'd you—"

"Guess who you are? Pfft, easy! You may have not realize it Parker but you actually left clues behind. It was only a matter of time before someone—like me—to discover your true identity just as how you discovered mine. And speaking about that, how'd you found out?"

"Like you said, it's easy. Those isolations…the sudden attacks on college…I figured them out right when Harry invited me over to his house. You were barely around so I knew that the Goblin…the sudden appearance…I knew it had to be you." However, I'll give you credits for creating a diversion by having an explosion at the OsCorp, to throw me off trail so that I could think that it was someone else who was behind the mask."

"You must be very smart."

Peter narrowed his eyes as he pushed himself up. "Now my turn. How'd you know who I was?"

Norman chuckled. "Playing twenty questions, are we?" smirking, he continued. "I think it's odd how you or rather Spider Man to show up right as soon as Peter Parker vanishes. You only had to slip up once, Peter and from there, I was busy trailing you until I figured it out who you were. And of course, there's dear ol' Iron Man who's so over protective over you. He treats you like a kid, doesn't you? But ohh, when you're Spider Man…nonono! There's no boundaries on you! You're free as a bird, wishing to do whatever you please! And that's where I would want to make a deal with you."

"Why?"

Norman laughed. "Think about it. I could squash you like a bug if I wanted to. I could end your pathetic life right here and no one will care about you or even notice that you're gone. But if you and I join together, we'll be an unstoppable team! No one can stop us! We're both geniuses in our own way! Imagine what we could accomplish together…what we could create! Or destroy! Causing the deaths of countless innocents with our selfish battles again and again and again until we're both dead! Is that what you want? Think about it, Hero!"

Peter staring at his hand, having what Norman said process into his mind. They would both be an unstoppable force, that's for sure but is it worth it? No. Stop.

 _ **Peter Parker stands alone…**_

Peter shivered from the unexpected voice from Venom. Venom had been quiet for a while…

"No," Peter refused. "I have what I need here. I don't need to join a psychotic villain who does bad deeds."

Norman gave a small chuckle, letting his hand fall down. "You shouldn't have refused me, Hero. That was a bad choice indeed…" he snarled and began to advance on Norman.

 _ **Peter!**_

Snapping himself out of his thoughts, Peter quickly acted and not even letting Norman to attack, Peter delivered a blow to Norman's chest which forced him stumble backwards and into the live wires. Norman gave out a scream as the electricity burned out his flesh. Growling harshly, Norman picked himself up but Peter once again kicked him, having the Green Goblin to once more be pushed back into the wires, releasing another jolt of electricity through his body.

Peter panted, exhausted as he rested his hands on his knees, letting out a shaky breath.

 _T—thanks…_

"Must…find…Spider Man…" Norman replied incoherently.

Spider Man scoffed. "With the way your memory is now, good luck with the search."

Lightning crackled as thunder boomed. Peter whirled around as he stared at the direction of where the thunderous rumble had taken place.

 _Iron Man._

In an instinct, Peter started to run towards the direction but he halted in his tracks, releasing his webs and trapped the disorientated Norman with them before he took off.

* * *

Iron Man grunted as he pushed himself up. This villain is proving to be difficult but even with the search he had conducted previously, it was still hard for him to defeat Otto.

Iron Man took a glance at his surroundings. He knew Spider Man had shown up but he still hasn't came back; he just hoped that wherever Peter is, he's alright.

Tony stole another glance at Stacy who seems to do alright. He was putting up a fight more than Tony realizes. He winced though when Stacy got smacked across the face from one of the robotic tentacles.

That's gonna leave a nasty scar.

Growling, Tony fired his repulsor but that only did little damage since the tentacle retreated back.

"Die, you fools!" Otto roared, annoyed that they were still living and because of that, they were in the way of Otto's goal.

Nevertheless, Stacy got up and resumed rapid fire at the man. He wasn't out to kill him but rather render him unconscious and to bring him to Justice for good.

Eyes narrowed, Otto used his arms as a shield, blocking the gunfire that was thrown at him.

"Enough!" Otto snarled as he then latched his arms onto the ceiling before he ripped it apart, having it crumbling it down.

Eyes wide, Tony immediately started to fly towards Stacy in time but Otto growled, not allowing him to get to the chief. Tony slammed himself against the already broken wall from the previous attack of the Goblin.

Tony tumbled down, away from the balcony. Nonetheless, he activated the boosters which helped him fly up and land.

The area was covered in dust but Tony quickly ignored it as he frantically started to search for Stacy.

"Jarvis!" Tony roared. "Find Stacy!" he shouted as he removed most of the rubbles.

" _Sir...I've discovered a body...its...its Captain Stacy...sir...he's gone..."_

Growling, Tony smashed the heavy boulder in half with his repulsor before getting rid of the others. At the last one, Tony felt his heart stop beating and his blood turned cold. Feeling numb, Tony lost his balance and fell to his knees, torn.

"No..." he croaked, picking up the lifeless body of Stacy.

"Stacy...Stacy!" Iron Man shook him though he knew it was useless. He lowered his head down, mourning for the loss.

A shaky hand came, gripping the metal of the suit.

"Tony..." Stacy gasped. "Win this...battle..."

And then, the arm dropped lifelessly to the ground. Trembling, Tony hugged the body before he gently put him back on the ground.

"Aww...not feeling emotionally...are we?"

Eyes flashing, Tony got up as he was shaking with rage.

"You'll pay for what you had done..." Iron Man seethed.

Otto cackled. "Not today!"

He released his tentacle, ready to strike him down. But just as Iron Man was ready to strike, something collided into the arm which made Otto stumble at the side.

"Too slow!" the newcomer replied as he attached himself on a broken half wall.

Growling, Otto flashed his eyes dangerously at the web crawler.

"Well if it isn't the pest, Spider Man. Here to rescue his daddy at the last minute..." he sneered. "Too bad you weren't here to face the death that already happened," he responded gleefully.

Spider Man narrowed his eyes. "What death?"

It was then that he looked around and he noticed that there were now only three instead of four.

He stared at the ground only to suddenly be hit from a ton of bricks. He lowered himself, staring at the body with numbness.

"Spider Man..." came the quiet voice of Tony. "He's gone..."

Peter stared helplessly and he quickly rush to the side of Stacy, cradling him.

"No...nonono..." Peter muttered incoherently.

He couldn't be gone...

Stacy...

 _Gwen._

Peter widened his eyes at the thought of how he was going to explain this to her...he couldn't...he _can't._

But he owes her for that much.

"You murderer!" Peter roared, standing up after he placed Stacy back. "How could you?! He has a family! A daughter! How could you do this?!"

Otto chuckled. "Simple."

What he said next infuriated Peter as he said the next words slowly.

"I. Don't. Care."

Letting out a rage, Peter charged towards him and he could slightly feel Venom taking over.

Good.

Maybe he could finish this once and for all. If he finishes, there'll be no more deaths. No more pain. No more sleepless nights.

Otto fell backwards, tumbling down until he fell off the edge. Peter was about to destroy him but he felt a tight grip around his waist and Peter struggled to get free.

"Lemme go! Release me!" Peter demanded.

Iron Man refused and he whispered in his ear. "No, Peter...not like this..."

Two tentacles shot in the air before pinning it down to the ground, lifting Otto up.

"Let me go," Peter whispered, feeling himself falling down to his knees while he brought his head down.

"You see what you _bring_ to this city, Spider Man?" Otto said softly. "You bring fear. You bring chaos. You bring _death…_ And who's to blame but yourself? Surely, not Iron Man. He could only put restrain on you for a bit but you…you just break free and head into the city without a thought. You don't care what happens to the people."

Peter clenched his fists tightly; his head still being down. "No…" he muttered. "You're wrong. I do care what happens to this city. I'm not a curse nor a plague," he shrug off Iron Man's hold as he got up. "I may not be a perfect hero but at least, I can still fight back. I'm not afraid of the mistakes I make. Everyone does it. Because do you know why? It means that they're _humans_. But you…" he gritted his teeth. "You're going _down_."

Otto chuckled with amusement. "Nice speech. But all of this nonsense won't mean anything unless you _actually_ do the deeds, don't you agree?"

Eyes flashing with determination, Peter walked towards him. "Right because you can't do anything while you're talking, huh?"

And then, Peter took a part of the broken wall and swung it towards Otto who simply had his tentacles hold the stone and tore it in half. That didn't stop Peter from running towards him though but Otto was quick and threw Peter out of the way, sending him flying away. As a result, Peter released an exclaim of shout.

"Jarvis, what do we know about the tentacles?" Tony asked as he dodged the menacing robotic arms before firing his own.

However, Peter immediately released his webs that got attached to the broken balcony rails and he launched himself forward like a slingshot so that he was going to perform a kick right at Otto. But as Peter flew forward, towards Otto, Iron Man released his attack just as Peter reached close to Otto. The beam went just slightly above Peter's legs and it struck Otto at the chest before Peter slammed his legs right at him with full force.

The two were sent crashing down into a new level (while Iron Man shouted: "Spider Man!") and the two were fighting each other. Peter grunted when he got slammed against the wall until they finally landed harshly against the ground. Peter gasped as he felt the wind knocked out of him but nevertheless, Peter forced himself to get up as he strained himself in the process.

Growling, Otto had his arms lift him up as the menacing arms danced around, clipping at each other.

"You think you could outmatch me!?" Otto shrieked before grabbing Peter by his ankle, dragging him upwards and then threw him through the clock's window. The window shattered and the clock got broken so that Peter is now lying on the handle that fell down straight; his body dangling.

Ripping apart a piece of a wall, Otto had it lifted as he walked towards Spider Man.

"You shall die!" he roared.

But before he could smash down the boulder, it got destroyed. Snarling, Otto turned himself around to see Iron Man flying down though Otto quickly threw more boulders at him in attempt to knock Iron Man out but that didn't happen. Iron Man instantly blasted the rocks all in one go and he flew into the dust that got created before delivering a punch that went across Otto's face.

Enraged, Otto continued to throw more objects at Iron Man though Tony dodged them with ease until Otto brought two of his arms, bringing them forward. Iron Man caught them and with his full strength, he started to bring them back; sort of like being in a tug o war.

"Stand down. Now," Tony growled. "Final warning."

"Never."

* * *

Peter hissed as he moved around. Luckily, he had Venom with him or otherwise he would face some serious injuries. Of course, he still has pain that went through his body but it wasn't that terrible.

 _ **Peter Parker needs to get up…he can still fight…we can still win.**_

With short breaths, Peter finally uttered the words, slightly shaking his head.

 _No…I…I…I need you…to go…Please…_

Silence took forever and it feared Peter.

 _Venom…?_

 _ **Peter Parker still needs us…**_

 _No…I don't want…to put you in anymore danger. I need you to get out. To get out of here…I know you now. You're not such a bad guy after all. You're just misunderstood, being used in a terrible way. I'm sorry…_

 _ **Spider Man will die…**_

 _No, I won't…I still have Iron Man…He and I can finish. I just want you to start over. Find a new host and hopefully, you could figure out yourself. To become whatever you want to be._

 _ **Peter Parker…don't do…this…**_

 _I'm sorry, Venom. But it's the only way for you to live. Besides, I have enhanced healing ability, remember? I'm not going away anytime soon. This is not the end and it never is. Venom, please. Please do this…for me…?_

 _ **NO!**_ the voice wailed.

 _Please…_ Peter thought, shakily. _Let me live._

And ever so slowly, Peter felt Venom sliding away from him. Inside of him, his DNA finally started to become red as the blackness faded away, disappearing until nothing was there. Wincing, Peter lifted his arm and he felt something slimy crawling on his until it reached at the tip of his finger. Peter stared at the form that lived inside him. He finally was able to see what Venom really was and needless to say, he was a bit…surprised. It resembled like a snake in some ways and the white eyes stared at Peter with a devastating look.

"Go…" Peter commanded.

And like that, the critter slipped away as Peter lowered his arm, allowing Venom to slither out of sight. Once he was gone, Peter released a pained gasp as he moved himself around, pushing himself up as he saw the scene in front of him.

Iron Man had managed to destroy one of the arms since it made a dying sound but not enough force to actually pull it off.

 _Iron Man…_

Gritting his teeth, Peter finally got to his knees as he released another pair of webs that made him swing towards the fight. As Peter reached the scene, he slammed forward, having himself ram at Otto at the front. Ignoring the pain, Peter delivered a few punches across the face. Raging, Otto grabbed his wrist but Peter used his other hand though Otto also grabbed the free one as well. Otto then used his other arm and it wrapped around Peter's waist so that he was then flung across the room with the tentacle still attached to him. Peter crashed onto a wall before being thrown to the other side and then finally got smashed at the ground.

Giving out a frustrated shout, Peter ripped apart the arms that was on him and he flipped him over by using that tentacle Peter had just ripped apart from himself. Peter then released another set of his webs but Otto had his arms go in front of him, letting the webs get tied though the machine arm had just simply ripped them apart with ease. Otto then smacked Peter across but Peter landed on his feet before he flew towards Otto in attempt to get another punch on him. However, Otto quickly got onto his feet and slithered away in a quick blur, letting Peter punch at the ground instead.

The two then danced around the around the room, trying to get each other. Iron Man followed their trails of movements as he tried to shoot Otto with his repulsor. Growling, he deactivated them as he started to plan another idea.

Thinking, Iron Man flew up in the air as he started to make his plan by activating his repulsor once more. As he was about to fire them, an object collided into him, having him to slightly stumble forward but in doing so, it made him accidentally fire his repulsor.

"Damn it," Tony growled. "Do you guys mind watch where you throw?!" he roared.

However, he wasn't heard though he made his eyes go wide when he realizes that the repulsor was going to strike the extinguisher.

"Shit."

On the other hand, Otto threw a wall that was on him. That infuriating little insect was more persistent than he thought. Nevertheless, he was determined to finish him off even if it kills him. At least he can die easily, knowing that he had done the one thing every villain had struggled to do so. He threw the extinguisher but what Otto didn't realize was that there was another attack that was about to strike it.

As Peter was about to perform another attack of his own, the beam from Tony's struck the extinguisher and it send out an explosion, forcing the two to fly back from such a blast. Tony only got a little bit of it from the shockwave it got released.

Nevertheless, Tony quickly got up as he rushed towards Peter who groaned from the unexpected attack.

"Damn," Peter wheezed as he didn't realize that he was close to a window.

"You okay, Pete?" Tony asked, worried; his guard being dropped.

"Could've been worse but I'm spectacular…" Peter coughed, pushing himself up.

Tony helped him up but as he did, Peter suddenly felt his spider sense going off.

"Tony—"Peter started to speak but as he turned to face Tony, Peter gave out an alarm of cry as he saw the blade of the tentacle pierce right through Tony's armor.

Time seemed to be still for Peter as he watched the scene in slow motion. Peter had his eyes glued as Tony got whisked away from the side. He didn't even notice the malevolent grin from Otto as he threw Tony out of the window like a ragged doll.

Tony fell slowly until he was out of sight and was no more.

 **Author's Note:** *slightly peeks out from her hiding spot* please don't kill me? *puppy eyes only to see the angry looks from the entire fandom* well damn…ehm…I'll buy…um…cookies? Happy endings? Um…um…a rainbow? Um...we're almost done the story...? Right then…okay…I'm gonna go now…fandom: GET HER! BURN HER TO THE GROUND! Me: *Runs aways*


	29. Remorse

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Master Skywalk 121 for reviewing the story. Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story. Thanks to nataku2709 for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 29: Remorse

Peter stared at the broken window as the image of Tony Stark being thrown out as though it was nothing. His heart skipped a beat and his mind was all mixed up; he felt numbness creeping up his body while he was trying to have a hard time to process what just happened.

No…

That didn't happen…

That _didn't_ happen…

Peter felt his blood run cold, still trying to comprehend what had happened at this moment.

That couldn't have happened…

This was Iron Man Peter was talking about. Nothing stops that guy. Not even death. And in a few seconds, Peter would see the hovering red and gold suit at the window, ready to end this battle _with_ him. Yes, that _would_ happen.

"And so ends the great Tony Stark…"

" _Mr. Stark? Come now, Parker. I'm your legal guardian now and I want you to drop those formal names. If you want…um…" Tony shifted awkwardly in his seat. "You can call me…um…dad…you know if you want to," Tony said quickly as he saw the stun look from Peter. "It's cool if you don't want to but I'm just—"_

" _I would love to—"Peter suddenly blurted out which surprised Tony who blinked._

" _Oh? Oh um okay. That's cool too…" Tony slightly grinned._

Peter fell to his knees as he stated out at the window. Grief and anguish were mixed in his emotions as he finally realized that Tony was not coming back.

He let out something horrible, mourning for his deceased guardian. No, _dad._

"Oh come now. Think of it," Otto spoke. "There's no more Tony Stark. No more parent on what to tell you what to do. No more restraint. Think of what you could do now that he's gone..."

Peter wasn't able to hear him at all since he was being devastated, his mind lost and confused; no longer comprehending about anything.

"There'll be a _new_ Spider Man..." his voice hissed.

 _Snap out of it, Pete._

Shaking, Peter just managed to have his concentration back but he wished he didn't since all he could now feel is rage and hatred that was boiling in his blood.

"NEVER!" Peter roared.

And then, Peter slammed into Otto by throwing him backwards. Eyes blinded from anger, Peter released his webs but that only made Otto had his tentacles to rip it apart before grabbing Peter by the ankle and threw him away.

But instead of flying from out of sight, Peter sling shot himself, kicking Otto back with a powerful kick. Peter landed on the ground but he didn't wasted a second since he automatically fired his webs at the tentacle but it grabbed it.

The arm pulled Peter from behind though he landed back on the ground. And then, he rapid fire his webs so that all four of the tentacles were now tied with his webs.

Peter started to pull them back, mustering every strength he has. Otto screamed in pain as he felt the arms being pulled apart by force. He thrashed around but Peter stood his ground.

"Get off me, you little insect!"

Grunting, Peter resumed his pull until at the last pull, he felt a small budge; a small tear was heard. Small sparks sparked out as they got ripped apart until finally, Peter got them off but in doing so, it made the top of the arms rip a large tear across the ceiling as Peter flipped them over.

The ceiling started to tumble down though Spider Man quickly moved away but Otto was in too much as his neck and below bled furiously. The blood trailing down the path of where the arms had once attached to him.

And then, in a quick movement, Otto got buried from the rocks, ending him in a quick death.

Peter stared at the rubbles as he detached himself from the side of the wall.

"Good riddance," he muttered.

After he retrieved Stacy's body, Peter lowered himself all the way to the ground but he didn't notice that there was a large crowd that was gathering.

Either he didn't noticed or he didn't cared.

But as he placed Stacy down on the ground, he heard a voice, a horror one.

"Daddy?"

It was faint but he could hear it.

"Dad!" the voice screamed. The person shoved through the crowd, desperately getting herself to her father.

Peter looked up and saw Gwen who had a tear face stain.

"I'm sorry..." Spider Man whispered before he got up and walked towards the lifeless body of Tony.

Sobbing, Peter crumpled to his knees as he placed his hand on the lifeless armor where the arc reactor was no longer glowing.

In the crowd, two other people were shoving through the people. Michelle gasped as Harry caught up to her. Numbly, she walked towards Peter, falling to her knees before she cradled Peter in her arms.

"Peter..." she whispered, her eyes in pain as she watched Gwen wailing. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

* * *

After the battle, Peter found himself back at the avengers' facility, staring at the empty shell of the Iron suit. The darkened sky still hadn't got cleared but it was no longer raining.

Soft footsteps were heard but Peter chose to ignore it.

" _You see what you bring to this city, Spider Man?" Otto said softly. "You bring fear. You bring chaos. You bring death…And who's to blame but yourself? Surely, not Iron Man. He could only put restrain on you for a bit but you…you just break free and head into the city without a thought. You don't care what happens to the people."_

Otto's voice echoed through his mind.

"Peter..."

Peter didn't bother to turn back.

"How...what...happened...?" Happy's quiet voice came.

Was that a small tremble in his voice?

Peter slightly whirled to the side, stealing a glance from the side before he started to walk away as Happy spoke.

"If you were maybe to tell someone..." Happy began but sighed when Peter wasn't talking to him. "The arrangements have been made..." he spoke out loudly.

This time, Peter stopped in his tracks. Seeing that Happy got Peter's attention, he resumed talking but in a quiet voice though Peter could still hear him.

"It'll come in a few weeks' time…"

Stiffly, Peter spoke. He had to know. "Will the others come?"

There was a small silence before Happy answered. "Yes. Also," Happy continued as he walked towards him, forcing Peter to turn around to stare at him.

Happy winced as he stared at the grief-stricken look from Peter. He felt so sorry for the boy; he practically lost _everyone_. Shaking, Happy had his hand go at the back of his jean pocket, pulling out a white envelope and gave it to Peter.

"Tony Stark wanted to give you this," Happy whispered.

After the battle, Peter went back to his dorm by entering through his window before locking it. Shaking, Peter fell down to his knees as sobs emitted out of his body. He was so deep in grief that he wasn't even aware that the door had been broken in half or the fact that Harry had entered in only to join the despair Peter.

The two settled in silence, allowing the horrible wails filling the room.

"I could've saved him…" Peter gasped through his sobs. "I just stood there like an idiot and made him took the attack…Otto's right…I'm not a hero…I just bring death to those around me and to the city…it's all my fault," he wept.

"Peter…what happened at that tower…? Please…I need to know… _Gwen_ needs to know. She's devastated. Her dad…"

Peter shook his head, not bothering wiping his tears from his face. That damn tower brought too much bad memories and it's something he didn't want to remember it.

Harry sighed. "In all honesty, Peter. As Spider Man, you owe Gwen an explanation."

"She'll hate me," he wailed. "She won't talk to me…"

"It's the least you could. If you won't tell me then at least tell her. After all, her _dad_ was involved with the battle. You owe her that much."

Peter took in a deep shaky breath before he spoke. "He killed Tony. Otto. When Tony went to check up on me after the fire extinguisher got blasted, Otto had one of his arm tentacles pierce right through his armor…his body…I sensed my spider sense going off and I didn't do anything other than calling out his name…I'm a murderer," Peter moaned.

Harry grabbed Peter's shoulders fiercely as he made Peter look at him. "Look at me," he commanded.

When Peter forced himself to look at him, all Harry could see were the broken lifeless eyes that no longer had a shine to them.

"You're not a murderer. You're Peter Parker. You're Spider Man. You're one of the bravest person I had ever met. Let's face it: if I had powers like yours and I needed to what you're doing, I wouldn't do it. I would just turn back and try to forget I ever had powers. Forget what Otto said. You're a hero. Not a curse. You're a blessing to this city. Not a plague."

"Then why do I keep bringing the losses? No matter what I do, no matter how many people I try to save, innocent people dies…" Peter whispered.

"You can't really escape death. It's a part of the grieving process but it makes you stronger. And if I know anything, it's that Peter Parker _doesn't_ give up."

Once Harry had made Peter release everything he had bottled up, Harry left the bedroom so that he wouldn't disturb Peter's sleep. Peter had fallen asleep on him after he told him everything and eventually, after so much crying and beating himself up for whatever faults Peter had made, fatigue took over Peter which made Harry carry him to his bed.

Eventually, Peter found himself opening his eyes as he found himself face to face to a wall. Stifling a yawn, Peter pushed himself up, rubbing his eyes while a blanket which covered him fell off him.

He looked around the room, trying to figure out when he fell asleep. He honestly didn't remember going to sleep in the first place let alone even going to bed but he certainly felt a bit refreshed although the wounds from the battle still hadn't healed his broken heart.

Staring at his bed, Peter made his mind up and threw the rest of the blanket away from him as he got up and faced at the window.

There was something else he had to do.

* * *

Gwen sniffed.

She hadn't stopped crying ever since she had saw the death of her dad. And to make things worse, Spider Man had just left her there without no explanation as to what actually had happened. He only whispered a 'sorry' and then left to mourn for Tony.

Tony…

Gwen couldn't believe that Tony Stark was dead. The most respected man was dead and obviously, that is going to be a huge deal for everyone. No matter how many pages Gwen had read through the newspaper, she would always see his name or even mention of him.

Even if Tony Stark was a respected man, Gwen was still interested in her father's death and how it happened but it was overruled by Tony Stark's death.

 _ **TONY STARK HAD JOINED HOWARD STARK IN DEATH**_

Angrily, Gwen threw the paper away as she was no longer interested in the Stark family. Yes, they were important but so was her dad. He was also in the battle as well, fighting alongside with the Great Tony Stark.

"Dad, I've missed you…" Gwen whispered as fresh set of tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Um…hey Gwen…"

Startled, Gwen gasped as she turned around and saw Spider Man who came through the balcony's door entrance. Gwen simply stared at him with jaw open, goggling at him. It took her a while before she snapped herself back to reality.

"How'd you get in here? Ever heard of privacy?" Gwen asked angrily.

"I'm sorry," Spider Man stammered. "I've…um…pick pocketed the lock and well…you know…" Spider Man slid the door open. "It…opened…"

Gwen shot him a dirty look. "Well, that's what happens when you do that. _Why_ are you here? If you honestly came here to tell me about that door then please go away. You have no business here," Gwen replied, turning around so that Spider Man wouldn't see her crying again.

It's strange though. Gwen hadn't really seen Spider Man this close before. Sure, she had seen a small figure of him, flying through the city into the distance but not this _close_. It was almost intimidating.

Peter felt his heart being broken again as he saw the state of Gwen.

"Gwen…" Spider Man spoke. "I'm sorry," he responded, walking towards Gwen who was a bit stiff as she felt him close to her.

"How did it happen?" Gwen sniffed. "How did my dad died?" she whirled to stare at the mask. "Please…I need…I need to know…"

Peter lowered his head down. In all honesty, he doesn't actually know how her dad died. All he know was that he found Stacy's body on a pile of rocks with Tony telling him that Stacy's gone. The only one who knows about what really happened were Tony and Otto.

"To be honest, I don't know myself. I was too busy fighting with the Green Goblin who has been finally stopped. When I got to the Tower, I saw Stacy being on the pile of rocks. I'm assuming there was a large explosion that took place and it sort of…crumbled…" Peter whispered. "I'm so sorry. Stacy…Captain Stacy…he was a good man. I know we had a rocky relationship but he trusted me enough to continue to roam around the city…he was a good man and he didn't deserve to die…"

Gwen stifled a sob. "W—what about Stark? I knew he was very close to you and this also must be very hard on you…I'm so sorry…"

Peter nodded slowly. "I…I guess that's life…I guess that's how it goes…"

Regardless, the end of the week had came by quickly but the talks of Tony Stark's death were still roaming around the halls. There were some whispers and occasionally glances at Peter who hung his head low while his hoodie was covering his face.

He walked down the halls with his hands stuffed in his pocket. But as the week came to an end though, he was constantly reminded that Tony Stark's funeral would come quickly. It was to be taken place in the evening but regardless though, Peter wasn't sure how the funeral would go.

Would it be private?

Peter doubt it since the whole world knows about the death. It may be broad cast but there would be at least some people who would come to attend to the actual funeral.

Michelle scowled at the people who kept giving Peter stares. She honestly feel bad for Peter since he had lost _everyone_ he ever loved. Sure, he had her and Harry but it just wasn't the same.

"You will be alright?" Michelle asked, feeling sympathy for the boy.

Peter nodded solemnly. There was a small pause.

"I'll see you later…" Peter whispered, earning a nod from Michelle.

Michelle sighed as she watched Peter opening the door before closing it. What happens now, Michelle doesn't know. Nevertheless, she walked away from the door as she went down the hall to her dorm. She still has packing to do and plus, to console a friend as well.

Peter began to pack once he entered his room though he gave a small weak smile to Harry who also had the same idea about packing earlier. Sure, they could've done it tomorrow but Peter felt that it was best to do it today. Without a word, Peter went to his closet to pick out his stuff including his suitcase but as after picking the suitcase, a letter fell out of his sweater pocket.

He stopped what he was doing and bend down to grab the white envelope. He stared at it as he remembered Happy who had given it to him. Not wanting to open it now, Peter stuffed it back in his pocket and began to pack.

Once they were done, Peter hung out with Michelle and Harry. Gwen was no longer to be seen but even if the weather was beautiful, it seemed to mock them. They would spend with each other until it was time for them to go to the funeral. Peter couldn't help but to have tears roll down his face as Happy had picked them up from the school.

This was it.

Peter was really going to say goodbye to Tony. And he wasn't even ready at all.

The graveyard rolled into the view and the limo stopped.

"Ready?" Michelle whispered.

Peter shook his head. "No. I'm not ready to say goodbye."

After composing himself, Peter got out of the car followed by Michelle and Harry. It was rather a large crowd. Among the crowd were the Avengers themselves, all surrounding the large hole that had been dug so that the large black coffin could be put inside. But to add a nice touch, there was a medium size statue of Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit, towering above the grave.

Peter took no notice of the crowd; he was trying to prepare himself to say goodbye.

The trio stood in front of the empty hole that was ready to be covered by the casket. But the fact that he was staring at the grave didn't help his tears since it betrayed him. Sniffling, Peter stole a glance to the side and saw that next to Tony's tomb were his parents but Peter quickly averted his gaze and stared at Tony's grave.

Peter sensed a presence that was next to him but he disregarded it.

"I'm so sorry…" the voice whispered.

Peter wiped his tears away as he lifted his head only to see Black Widow with a mournful look on her face. Peter gave the weakest smile he had ever muster but he hadn't said anything.

After everything had settled in, the Priest made his appearance and he began to speak.

"We often say that death could not be forecasted. When we say this, we imagine this hour would be in a distant future. We never thought we would be thinking about Tony Stark as a memory…"

As the Priest continued to talk, away from the cemetery, the Priest's voice seemed to be carried within the small breeze from the wind, down the busy roads until it reached the Times Square where the funeral was being broadcasted all over. The Times Square ended up being incredibly crowded as the people watched the funeral; each of them carrying a candle to respect the man who was clad in a red and gold suit.

But as the scene was pulled away, it was lifted upwards where a shape was formed by the crowd. The formation of the audience was made into the form of Iron Man from the thousands of candles that had been lit up, creating the outline.

"…Those we love don't go away. They walk beside us every day…unseen, unheard, but always near, still loved, still missed and very dear…" the scene seemed to be shifted back to the cemetery. "By so saying we bid you farewell and good night to your physical body. As we know that you will forever be in spirit…"

The coffin was finally put in the hole but the Priest's voice was still being heard as Peter had a handful of dirt in his fist. He stare at the black coffin for a while until he finally let go of the dirt that had hit the casket with a soft thud. After the speech, Peter pulled himself away from the crowd; he needed to get away. He only was surrounded with Harry and Michelle who was beside him.

There were some people who said their sorrows to Peter though he didn't even know half of them but he took their griefs from politeness.

"What happens now?" Michelle asked, interrupting the silence.

Peter shrugged. "I…I don't know…but I know for sure is that I'm not going back."

Michelle and Harry widened their eyes as they stared at Peter with surprised and confused looks.

"Not going back? What do you mean?" Harry asked, baffled.

"Exactly that," Peter spoke. "I'm not going back. I'm not going to the University. I'm going to finish my job as Spider Man so that I could finally put an end to my legacy. I'm going to seek out the villains and end them once and for all. I'm going to finish my plan."

"Your plan?" Harry paused. "You mean, you're still set on going back in time to revive Stromm?"

Michelle stared at him with an incredulous look. "You're going back in time? Peter, are you insane?!"

Peter shrugged. "One would say that I am but I know that this has to happen. I've just got a gut feeling that it would work. That the answers of what I'm looking for would be discovered in the past."

"Then let us go with you," Michelle blurted out.

"No. I can't. It's too dangerous. I'm not letting someone else who's close to me to get killed. No. You guys are important to me and I need you to stay alive. Please. Happy will take care of you two. Along with Gwen who still doesn't who I am but Happy's smart. You'll be safe with him."

Michelle stared at him. "Are you sure?" she whispered, feeling the threatening tears coming into her eyes.

Peter sucked in a breath as he stared at her. He nodded at last. "Yes. I'm sure. This is what Tony would want me to do," he whispered. "I don't know when I'll be back. It's going to take a while…but please stay safe…"

Tears blurring her eyesight, Michelle threw herself on to Peter but the tears betrayed her since she started sobbing.

"I know you already made Tony Stark proud," she pulled herself away. "But please, Pete…Come back to us…come back to us, safe and sound…"

Peter nodded. "I will…I promise."

Harry gave him a tight hug where Peter returned the gesture as well before they pulled off. Exhaling the breath, Peter went back to his spot as they stared out at the beyond where the sun had finally took its last breath.

 **Author's Note:** I'm not crying. Are you crying? I'm not crying *blows nose* the fact that Peter had never got a chance to call Tony 'dad' just tears my heart T_T but holy crap. Book six is done; one more chapter to go and then holy flippin stuff. But what do you think that envelope is? BOOK SEVEN IS COMING OUT SOON, Y'ALL! *screams eternally* I WOULD NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD MAKE THIS FAR! THIS IS SO TRULY FLIPPIN AMAZING! THANK YOU GUYS! THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SHARE THIS WONDERFUL EXPERIENCE! THANK YOU!


	30. A Dark Omen

**Shout Outs:** Thanks to Sonar for reviewing the story.

* * *

Chapter 30: A Dark Omen

Mysterio stared at the dark, gloomy sky. The news of Tony Stark had spread throughout the city like wildfire; it was all what the people could ever talk about. Of course, the death of that policeman…what was his name? Ah, Captain George Stacy had also been gossiped about but it seemed that his death has been overruled by Tony Stark's by a landslide.

Can't be helped though, Mysterio thought. Tony Stark was more popular than Stacy.

But despite having heard of Tony Stark's death, an unsettling dark omen could be felt and Mysterio could certainly feel it. It was going to come in the most unexpected way this city would ever see it.

Letting out a breath, Mysterio tore his gaze away, briskly walking away. That pitiful sky had just reminded him of a deal he had made. To be honest, Mysterio sort of felt bad for Spider Man since he lost someone who was very close to him but Mysterio pushed that feeling deep down.

Why would he feel sympathy towards his most hateful enemy?

Shaking his head, Mysterio walked out of the room with an emotionless expression on his face. He has someone to meet up with so he best better to get there.

"You're still keen on going?"

Mysterio stopped walking but he knew who the voice belonged to since he didn't bother to turn around though he let out a small annoyed sigh.

"Yes and nothing what you'll say will get me out of this," Mysterio spoke to the figure in the darkness.

Dimitri narrowed his eyes as he stepped out from the shadows. "Are you sure? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you actually feel sorry for the poor boy. But are you sure it's for the boy you're helping? Are you sure you're not doing it for your own personal gain?"

Mysterio narrowed his eyes, trying to block Dimitri's voice. "I'm sure…"

Dimitri darkened his stare. "Hmph. I don't believe you. You're the villain here, might I remind you. Stop pretending that you're a good guy because you're not. Your soul isn't pure. It's darkened. Tainted by hatred and with greed…Remember that, Mysterio."

Mysterio fell in silence but he then resumed walking away, not bothering to glance back at Dimitri since he knew that would be the last time he would ever see his face. However, the Illusionary stopped.

"Spider Man's not the only one who lost. We lost Octavius," Mysterio spoke before he resumed walking.

But as he was going down the hall, Dimitri's voice entered his mind which made him have second thoughts.

" _Are you sure you're not doing this for your own personal gain?"_

Since Mysterio was going back in time to help that wench to revive Stromm then perhaps there's more to Mysterio's purpose than meets the eye. Maybe he really was doing this for his own personal gain…

Shrugging, Mysterio stopped walking and then he looked up at the ceiling before vanishing in a puff of smoke.

It was time.

* * *

A sharp _click_ was heard followed by a heavy gruff sigh. Jackson stared ominously at the glass display which held the infamous Otto's robotic arms. He clenched his fists tightly as bad memories entered his mind, forcing him to recollect the flashbacks.

He still couldn't believe that Stacy was gone.

He should've stopped him from getting out of that car or at least accompanied him since Stacy had headed towards the battle. Jackson swore to himself that he was going to protect Stacy but he failed his promise. The Stacy family had now lost a great dad and husband.

But to Jackson, he wasn't just a policeman. Stacy was his greatest friend Jackson had ever met. But now since he's gone, Jackson promised himself that would protect George's family with all of his might. Until his last dying breath.

But that wasn't the only death where it made Jackson be hit hard.

Tony Stark's death was also tough. Especially on that boy Parker. He now had no one and it made him feel sympathy for the boy. Who was going to take care of him?

Tony Stark's bodyguard?

Maybe but Jackson didn't even think Happy would be capable of taking care of that boy.

"So…that's the infamous robotic arms, huh?"

The voice snapped Jackson out of his darkened thoughts. He heaved out a sigh though he stole a glance and saw that it was Officer Jones.

"Yes…unfortunately," Jackson muttered. He stared fiercely at it, giving such a hatred look where if looks could kill, those tentacles would be burned. "Damn it. Why the hell can't we burn those stupid arms? Or destroy it."

Jones gave a small 'humph' sound. "That's what I suggested before I came here but unfortunately, we have to keep all the damn evidence…even if it brings bad memories…" he said quietly.

"I still can't believe Stacy's really gone..." Jackson muttered as the two exited out of the Vault.

"That makes the two of us..." Jones muttered.

When they reached a new room, Jackson stopped.

"Hey uh...any word on that kid Parker? Do you know how's he holding up?" Jackson questioned.

Jones shook his head sadly. "When my daughter, Michelle, sought out to him, she said that he was a wreck. Completely broken to pieces. She isn't sure if he'll be back to his normal self..."

Jackson sighed. "Poor kid. He already lost his parents, his aunt and uncle and now the newly made guardian Tony Stark. He hasn't got anyone left."

"I know..." Jones replied with a pained tone. "People say that Happy, Stark's friend and bodyguard, is supposed to take care of the kid..."

Jackson gave a small 'humph' sound. "In all honesty, I would rather have Potts take care of the kid. At least, she would know what she would be doing..."

"True."

"Spider...Man...must...find...him..."

The two officers stared at the glass of the Interrogation room to see a disoriented Green Goblin.

"Well at least, Spider Man was able to bring us a gift..." Jones replied.

"I don't know why they're even bothering to get some answers from him. He's all messed up," Jackson said, staring hard at the villain.

Jones slightly chuckled, a small one. "If having the Green Goblin forget himself not badass then I don't know what is..."

Jackson smirked. "Don't give Spider Man too much credit," he grinned.

Smiling a little, the two was about to enter the room until all of a sudden, the lights started to flicker on and off, alerting everyone who were in the room.

"What the hell?!" Jones exclaimed, pulling out his gun.

"Stay on your guard—argh!" Jackson shouted as he got thrown through the window; the glass shattering.

"Jackson!"

"I'm alright..." Jackson called back, gruffly.

But the two guys who were in the Interrogation room got knocked out, making it a bit easier for the intruder to come in.

"Damnit!" Jackson growled as he fired his gun but it did futile.

He got knocked out by the powerful swing as he got slammed hard against the wall.

"What the hell?" Jackson exclaimed with eyes wide.

He wasn't able to tell what it was but all he knew was that he was met with green terrifying eyes before it whisked away the Green Goblin by smashing through the ceiling, disappearing from sight.

"What the hell was that thing?" Jackson gasped as Jones joined them but none of them had the answer to it.

They could only guess and it wasn't a pretty answer.

 **Author's Note: **Bumbumbum...AND IT'S DONE! Don't you just love cliffhangers? XD *crickets* guess not...tehe...BUT BOOK SIX IS DONE! HOLY CRAP! EVERYONE, MARK THIS DATE BECAUSE IN TWO WEEKISH I'LL BE STARTING BOOK SEVEN! OMGOMGOMG! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR STICKING WITH HIM AND I REALLY HOPE YOU ALL WILL STICK WITH ME FOR THE LAST AND FINAL BOOK. THANK YOU!


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